TRUE  TALES 
OF  ARCTIC  HEROISM 


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TRUE  TALES 
OF  ARCTIC  HEROISM 


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DR.  Kane's  men  hauling  their  boat  over  rough  ice. 

From  a  stetcli  by  Dr.  Kane. 


TRUE  TALES 
OF  ARCTIC   HEROISM 

,  IN  THE  NEW  WORLD 


BY 

MAJOR-GENERAL  A.  W.  GREELY,  U.  S.  ARMY 

GOLD-MEDAIUST     KOYAL     GEOGRAPHICAL     SOCIETY     AND      OF      SOCIETE      DE 

CEOGRAPHIE 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


97-327 


CoPYttlCHT,    I0I2,   BY 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


•  ••  .     • 


•     •   ,•  • 


•     1  •  ( 


-.  V • 

.  .  . •    •«  • 


« •  » •  • 


• .  •  ••  • 


•   •• 


PREFACE 

From  the  dawn  of  history  great  deeds  and  heroic 
actions  have  ever  fed  the  flame  of  noble  thought. 
Horace  tells  us  that 

By  Homer  taught  the  modern  poet  sings 
In  epic  strains  of  heroes,  wars  and  kings. 

The  peace-aspiring  twentieth  century  tends  toward 

phases  of  heroism  apart  from   either  wars   or  kings, 

and  so  the  heroic  strains  of  the  "True  Tales"  appear 

V  in  the  unwarHke  environment  of  uncommercial  explo- 

X  rations. 

One  object  of  this  volume  is  to  recall  in  part  the 

geographic   evolution    of  North    America    and    of  its 

adjacent  isles.     The  heroic-loving  American  youth  is 

^  not  always  familiar  with  the  deeds  of  daring,  the  de- 

3  votion  to  duty,  and   the  self-abnegation  which  have 

<>,    so  often  illumined   the  stirring  annals  of  exploration 

in  arctic  America. 

Notable  exemplars  of  heroic  conduct  have  already 
been  inscribed  on  the  polar  scroll  of  immortals,  among 
whom  are  Franklin  and  McClintock,  of  England;  Kane, 
of  America;  Rae,  of  Scotland;  and  Mylius-Erichsen,  of 
Denmark.  Less  known  to  the  world  are  the  names 
Bronlund,   Egerton   and    Rawson,   Holm,   Hegemann, 

V 


vi  Preface 

Jarvis  and  Bertholf,  Kalutunah,  Parr,  Petitot,  Pirn, 
Richardson,  Ross,  Schwatka  and  Gilder,  Sonntag, 
Staffe,  Tyson  and  Woon,  whose  deeds  appear  herein. 
As  to  the  representative  women.  Lady  Jane  Franklin 
is  faintly  associated  in  men's  minds  with  arctic  hero- 
ism, while  Merkut,  the  Inuit,  has  been  only  mentioned 
incidentally.  Yet  all  these  minor  actors  have  dis- 
played similar  qualities  of  courage  and  of  self-sacrifice 
which  are  scarcely  less  striking  than  those  shown  in  the 
lives  of  others  who  are  recognized  as  arctic  heroes. 

The  '  True  Tales"  are  neither  figments  of  the  fancy 
nor  embellished  exaggerations  of  ordinary  occurrences. 
They  are  exact  accounts  of  unusual  episodes  of  arctic 
service,  drawn  from  official  relations  and  other  abso- 
lutely accurate  sources.  Some  of  these  heroic  actions 
involve  dramatic  situations,  which  offer  strong  temp- 
tations for  thrilling  and  picturesque  enlargements. 
The  writer  has  sedulously  avoided  such  methods,  pre- 
ferring to  follow  the  course  quaintly  and  delightfully 
set  forth  by  the  unsurpassed  French  essayist  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

Montaigne  says:  "For  I  make  others  to  relate  (not 
after  mine  own  fantasy,  but  as  it  best  falleth  out) 
what  I  cannot  so  well  express,  either  through  unskill 
of  language  or  want  of  judgment.  I  number  not  my 
borrowings,  but  I  weigh  them.  And  if  I  would  have 
made  their  number  to  prevail  I  would  have  had  twice 
as  many.  They  are  all,  or  almost  all,  of  so  famous 
and  ancient  names  that  methinks  they  sufficiently 
name  themselves  without  me." 


Preface  vii 

The  "Tale"  of  Merkut,  the  daughter  of  Shung-hu,  is 
the  only  entirely  original  sketch.  The  main  incident 
therein  has  been  drawn  from  an  unpublished  arctic 
journal  that  has  been  in  the  writer's  possession  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  This  character — a  primitive 
woman,  an  unspoiled  child  of  the  stone  age — is  not 
alone  of  human  interest  but  of  special  historic  value. 
For  her  lovely  heroic  life  indicates  that  the  men  and 
women  of  ages  many  thousands  of  years  remote  were 
very  like  in  character  and  in  nature  to  those  of  the 
present  period. 

A.  W.  Greely. 

Washington,  D.  C,  August,  1912. 


CONTENTS 


P&CI 


The  Loyalty  of  Philip  Staffe  to  Henry  Hud- 
son       I 

Franklin's  Crossing  of  the  Barren  Grounds  13 

The  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the  Victory      .     .  37 

The  Discovery  of  the  Northwest  Passage    .  55 

The  Timely  Sledge  Journey  of  Bedford  Pim  71 

Kane's  Rescue  of  His  Freezing  Shipmates      .  91 

How  WooN  Won  Promotion 105 

The  ANGpKOK  Kalutunah  and  the  Starving 

Whites 119 

Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery      .     .     .  137 

Sonntag's  Fatal  Sledge  Journey 155 

The  Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin  169 

The  Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson  187 

The  Saving  of  Petersen 213 

Life  on  AN  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack     .     .     .  231 

iz 


CONTENTS 


PAGX 


Parr's  Lonely  March  from  the  Great  Frozen 

Sea 251 

Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Bar- 
row      269 

The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail 293 

Schwatka's  Summer  Search 311 

The  Inuit  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age     .     .  329 

The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund     ....  347 

The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk,  the  Daugh- 
ter of  Shung-Hu 367 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Dr.  Kane's  Men  Hauling  Their  Boat  Over  Rough 

Ice Frontispiece 

From  a  sketch  by  Dr.  Kane. 

FACINd 
PACE 

Henry  Hudson's  Last  Voyage 4 

From  the  painting  by  the  Hon.  John  Collier. 

**We  Were  Nearly  Carried  Off,  Boat  and  All, 

Many  Times  during  This   Dreadful  Night"     208 

From  Tyson's  Arctic  Experiences. 

A  Group  of  the  Eskimo  Inuits 334 


LIST  OF  MAPS 


PACS 


The  Arctic  Regions  of  the  New  World     ...  2 

Hudson  Bay  and  Hudson  Strait 5 

Barren  Grounds  of  Northwestern  Canada     .     .  16 

Boothia  Peninsula  and  North  Somerset     ...  41 

Franklin's  Route  on  Northwest  Passage   ...  58 

Route  of  Pim's  Sledge  Journey 75 

Smith  Sound  and  West  Greenland 95 

Boothia  and  Melville  Peninsulas 141 

King  William  Land 177 

Robeson  Channel  and  Lady  Franklin  Bay      .     .  217 

Southeastern  Greenland 235 

Great  Frozen  Sea  and  Robeson  Channel   .     .     .  255 

Northwestern  Alaska 273 

Liverpool  Bay  Region 297 

Amdrup  and  Hazen  Lands,  Greenland     .    .    .    .  351 


THE  LOYALTY  OF  PHILIP  STAFFE  TO 
HENRY  HUDSON 


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THE  LOYALTY  OF  PHILIP  STAFFE  TO 
HENRY  HUDSON 

"You,  Philip  Staffe,  the  only  one  who  chose 
Freely  to  share  with  us  the  shallop's  fate, 
Rather  than  travel  in  the  hell-bound  ship — 
Too  good  an  English  sailor  to  desert 
Your  crippled  comrades." 

— Van  Dyke. 

ON  the  walls  of  the  great  Tate  Galler}'  in  London 
are  many  famous  pictures,  but  few  draw  more 
attention  from  the  masses  or  excite  a  livelier 
human  interest  among  the  travelled  than  does  "The 
Last  Voj^age  of  Henry  Hudson."  While  the  artist 
dwells  most  on  the  courage  of  Henry  Hudson,  he  re- 
calls the  loyalty  of  Philip  StafFe  and  thus  unites  high 
human  qualities  ever  admired. 

Consider  that  in  barely  four  years  Hudson  made 
search  for  both  the  northeast  and  northwest  passages, 
laid  the  foundations  for  the  settlement  of  New  York, 
opened  up  Hudson  Ba}',  and  in  a  north-polar  voyage 
reached  the  then  farthest  north — a  world  record  that 
was  unsurpassed  for  nearly  two  centuries.  Pew  ex- 
plorers in  career,  in  success,  and  in  world  influence  have 
equalled  Hudson,  and  among  those  few  are  Columbus, 
Magellan,  Vasco  da  Gama,  and  Livingston. 

Thus  Hudson's  life  was  not  merely  an  adventurous 
tale  to  be  told,  whether  in  the  golden  words  of  a  great 


True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


chronicle  or  in  magic  colors  through  the  brush  of  a 
great  artist.  It  appeals  to  the  imagination  and  so  im- 
presses succeeding  generations  throughout  the  passing 
centuries. 

For  such  reasons  the  materialistic  twentieth  century 
acclaimed  loudly  the  fame  of  this  unknown  man — 
mysterious  in  his  humanity  though  great  as  a  navigator. 
So  in  1909  the  deeds  and  Hfe  of  Henry  Hudson  were 
commemorated  by  the  most  wonderful  celebration  of 
the  western  hemisphere,  whether  judged  by  its  two 
miUions  of  spectators,  its  unsurpassed  electric  displays 
with  six  hundred  thousand  Hghts,  or  its  parade  of 
great  war-ships  from  eight  admiring  nations. 

Great  were  his  deeds;  but  what  was  the  manner  of 
this  man  who  won  that  greatest  love  from  Philip  StafFe, 
who  in  stress  lay  down  life  for  his  master?  There  was 
religious  duty  done,  for  Purchas  tells  that  "Anno,  1607, 
April  the  nineteenth,  at  Saint  Ethelburge,  in  Bishops- 
gate  Street,  did  communicate  these  persons,  seamen, 
purposing  to  go  to  sea  in  four  days  after,  to  discover  a 
passage  by  the  north  pole  to  Japan  and  China.  First, 
Henry  Hudson,  master.  .  .  .  Twelfthly,  John  Hudson, 
a  boy."  Hence  we  have  faith  that  Hudson  was  sound 
and  true. 

The  "Last  Voyage"  was  in  the  Discovery,  fifty-five 
tons  only,  during  which  Hudson,  in  search  of  the  north- 
west passage,  explored  and  wintered  in  Hudson  Bay. 
The  journal  of  Abacuck  Prickett,  the  fullest  known, 
gives  a  human  touch  to  the  voyage.  He  tells  of  a  bear, 
"which  from  one  ice-floe  to  another  came  toward  us, 


HENRY    HUDSON   S    LAST    VOYAGE. 
From  the  painting  by  the  Hon.  John  Collier. 


The  Loyalty  of  Philip  Staff e 


till  she  was  ready  to  come  aboard  the  ship.     But  when 
she  saw  us  look  at  her,  she  cast  her  head  between  her 


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Hudson  Bay  and  Hudson  Strait. 

hind  legs,  and  then  dived  under  the  ice,  and  so  from 
piece  to  piece,  till  she  was  out  of  our  reach." 

Some  strange-appearing  Indian  caches  were  found,  of 
which  he  relates:    "We  saw  some  round  hills  of  stone. 


True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


like  to  grass  cocks,  which  at  first  I  took  to  be  the  work 
of  some  Christian.  We  went  unto  them,  turned  off  the 
uppermost  stone,  and  found  them  hollow  within,  and 
full  of  fowls  hanged  by  their  necks."  Later  he  adds: 
*'We  were  desirous  to  know  how  the  savages  killed 
their  fowl,  which  was  thus:  They  take  a  long  pole  with 
a  snare  or  (noose)  at  the  end,  which  they  put  about  the 
fowl's  neck,  and  so  pluck  them  down. " 

Hudson  unwisely  decided  to  remain  in  the  bay 
through  the  winter  and  put  the  Discovery  into  quarters 
in  James  Bay,  an  unfortunate  though  possibly  inevita- 
ble anchorage.  Knowing  as  v/e  do  the  terrible  cold  of 
the  winters  in  the  Hudson  Bay  region,  it  is  certain 
that  the  illy  provided  crew  must  have  suffered  exces- 
sively during  the  winter.  Besides,  the  ship  vv^as  pro- 
visioned only  for  six  months  and  must  be  absent 
nearly  a  year.  Sensible  of  the  situation,  Hudson  en- 
couraged systematic  hunting  and  promised  a  reward 
for  every  one  who  "killed  either  beast,  or  fish,  or  fowl. " 
The  surrounding  forests  and  barren  hills  v/ere  scoured 
for  reindeer-moss  or  any  other  vegetable  matter  that 
could  be  eaten,  while  the  activity  of  the  hunters  was 
such  that  in  three  winter  months  they  obtained  more 
than  twelve  hundred  ptarmigan.  Nevertheless,  they 
were  in  straits  for  food  despite  efforts  at  sea  and  on 
land. 

They  had  sailed  a  few  days  only  on  their  homeward 
voyage  when  the  discontent  and  insubordination,  en- 
gendered the  preceding  winter,  had  swollen  into  mutiny. 
Alleging  that  there  had  been  unfairness  in  the  distribu- 


The  Loyalty  of  Philip  Staffe 


tion  of  food,  Henn^  Greene,  a  dissipated  }'outh  who 
owed  his  position  to  Hudson's  kindness,  incited  his 
fellows  to  depose  Hudson  and  cast  him  adrift.  That 
this  was  a  mere  suspicion  is  clear  from  the  cruel  and 
inhuman  treatment  of  their  sick  and  helpless  shipm.ates, 
who  also  suffered  Hudson's  fate. 

Prickett  relates  that  Hudson  was  brought  bound 
from  his  cabin,  and  "Then  was  the  shallop  hauled  up 
to  the  ship's  side,  and  the  poor,  sick,  and  lame  men  were 
called  on  to  get  them  out  of  their  cabins  into  the  shal- 
lop." Two  of  the  seamen,  Lodlo  and  Bute,  railed  at 
the  mutineers  and  were  at  once  ordered  into  the  boat. 

Philip  Staffe,  the  former  carpenter,  now  mate,  took 
a  decided  stand  against  the  mutineers,  but  they  de- 
cided that  he  should  remain  on  the  ship  owing  to  his 
value  as  a  skilled  workman.  He  heroically  refused  to 
share  their  lot,  but  would  go  with  the  master,  saying, 
"As  for  himself,  he  would  not  stay  in  the  ship  unless 
they  would  force  him." 

The  private  log  of  Prickett,  though  favoring  always 
the  mutineers  with  whom  he  returned  to  England, 
clearly  shows  that  Philip  Staffe  was  a  man  of  parts  al- 
though unable  to  either  read  or  write.  His  high  char- 
acter and  unfailing  loyalty  appear  from  his  decision. 
He  was  steadfast  in  encouraging  those  inclined  to  de- 
spair, and  also  discouraged  grumbling  discontent  which 
was  so  prevalent  in  the  ship.  He  was  one  of  the  men 
sent  to  select  the  location  of  winter  quarters  on  the 
desolate  shores  of  James  Bay.  Faithful  to  his  sense  of 
duty,  he  knew  how  and  when  to  stand  for  his  dignity 


8  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

and  rights.  He  displayed  spirit  and  resolution  when 
Hudson,  in  untimely  season  and  in  an  abusive  manner, 
ordered  him  in  a  fit  of  anger  to  build  a  house  under  un- 
suitable conditions  ashore.  StafFe  asserted  his  rights 
as  a  ship's  carpenter,  and  declined  to  compromise  him- 
self ashore. 

His  quick  eye  and  prompt  acts  mdicated  his  fitness 
for  a  ship's  ofllicer.  He  first  saw  and  gave  warning, 
unheeded,  of  a  ledge  of  rocks  on  which  the  Discovery 
grounded.  Again  in  a  crisis,  by  watchful  care  and  quick 
actix)n,  he  saved  the  ship's  cable  by  cutting  it  when  the 
main  anchor  was  lost.  But  in  critical  matters  he  stood 
fast  by  the  choleric  Hudson,  who  recognized  his  merit 
and  fideHty  by  making  him  mate  when  obliged  to  make 
a  change.  This  caused  feeling,  as  Prickett  records. 
"  For  that  the  master  (Hudson)  loved  him  and  made  him 
mate,  whereat  they  (the  crew)  did  grudge,  because  he 
could  neither  read  nor  write." 

Even  in  the  last  extremity  StafFe  kept  his  head,  ex- 
erted his  personal  influence  with  the  mutineers  for  the 
good  of  the  eight  men  who  were  to  be  cast  adrift  with 
the  master.  Declining  the  proferred  chance  of  per- 
sonal safety,  he  asked  the  mutineers  to  give  means  of 
prolonging  hfe  in  the  wild.  He  thus  secured  his  tools, 
pikes,  a  pot,  some  meal,  a  musket  with  powder  and  shot. 
Then  he  quietly  went  down  into  the  boat.  Wilson,  a 
mutineer,  testified  that  "PhiHp  Staff^e  might  have  staid 
still  in  the  ship,  but  he  would  voluntarily  go  into  the 
shallop  for  love  of  the  master  (Hudson)." 

Rather  than  cast  in  his  life  with  mutineers,  thus  in- 


The  Loyalty  of  Philip  Staffe 


suring  present  comfort  with  prolonged  life,  this  plain, 
illiterate  English  sailor  stood  fast  by  his  commander, 
and  faced  a  lingering  death  while  caring  for  his  sick  and 
helpless  comrades  in  a  desolate,  far-off  land.  Death 
with  unstained  honor  among  his  distressed  shipmates 
was  to  Philip  Staffe  preferable  to  a  life  of  shame  and 
dishonor  among  the  mutineers  of  the  Discovery.  Surely 
he  belongs  to  those  described  by  the  Bishop  of  Exeter: 

"Men  who  trample  self  beneath  them, 
Men  who  make  their  country  wreathe  them." 

The  heroic  lo3'"alty  of  Philip  Staffe  was  fittingly  em- 
balmed in  quaint  historic  prose  by  the  incomparable 
English  chronicler  of  the  principal  voyages  of  famous 
navigators.  Purchas,  in  "His  Pilgrimage,"  relates:  "But 
see  what  sincerity  can  do  in  the  most  desperate  trials. 
One  Philip  Staffe,  an  Ipswich  man,  who,  according  to 
his  name,  had  been  a  principal  staff  and  stay  to  the 
weaker  and  more  enfeebled  courages  of  his  companions 
in  the  whole  action,  lightening  and  unlightening  their 
drooping  darkened  spirits,  with  sparks  from  his  own 
resolution;  their  best  purveyor,  with  his  piece  on  shore, 
and  both  a  skilful  carpenter  and  lusty  mariner  on  board; 
when  he  could  by  no  persuasions,  seasoned  with  tears, 
divert  them  from  their  devilish  designs,  notwithstand- 
ing they  entreated  him  to  stay  with  them,  yet  chose 
rather  to  commit  himself  to  God's  mercy  in  the  forlorn 
shallop  than  with  such  villains  to  accept  of  likelier 
hopes. " 

The  mutineers,  having  deposed  and   marooned  the 


10  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

great  navigator  Hudson,  looked  forward  to  a  home- 
ward voyage  of  plenty  and  of  comfort.  But  under  the 
rash  and  untrained  directions  of  Henry  Greene,  William 
Wilson,  and  Robert  Juet,  the  wretched,  luckless  seamen 
were  in  turn  harried  by  hostile  savages  and  distressed 
by  deadly  famine. 

Prickett  relates  that  a  party  landed  near  Cape  Diggs, 
at  the  mouth  of  Hudson  Strait,  to  barter  with  the 
natives  for  provisions,  and  adds:  "I  cast  up  my  head, 
and  saw  a  savage  with  a  knife  in  his  hands,  who  stroke 
at  my  breast  over  my  head:  I  cast  up  my  right  arm  to 
save  my  breast,  he  wounded  my  arm  and  stroke  me  in 
the  body  under  the  right  pap.  He  stroke  a  second 
blow,  which  I  met  with  my  left  hand,  and  then  he 
stroke  me  in  the  right  thigh,  and  had  like  to  cut  oflp  my 
little  finger  of  the  left  hand.  I  sought  for  somewhat 
wherewith  to  strike  him  (not  remembering  my  dagger 
at  my  side),  but  looking  down  I  saw  it,  and  therewith 
stroke  him  into  the  body  and  the  throat. 

"Whiles  I  was  thus  assaulted  in  the  boat,  our  men 
were  set  upon  on  the  shore.  John  Thomas  and  Will- 
iam Wilson  had  their  bowels  cut,  and  Michael  Perse 
and  Henry  Greene,  being  mortally  wounded,  came  tum- 
bling into  the  boat  together.  .  .  . 

"The  savages  betook  them  to  their  bows  and  arrows, 
v/hich  they  sent  amongst  us,  wherewith  Henry  Greene 
was  slain  outright,  and  Michael  Perse  received  many 
wounds,  and  so  did  the  rest.  In  turning  the  boat  I  re- 
ceived a  cruel  wound  in  my  back  with  an  arrow.  But 
there  died  there  that  day  William  Wilson,  swearing 


The  Loyalty  of  Philip  Staffe  ii 


and  cursing  in  most  fearful  manner.  Michael  Perse 
lived  two  days  and  then  died." 

Of  their  final  sufferings  Prickett  records:  "Towards 
Ireland  we  now  stood,  with  prosperous  winds  for  many 
days  together.  Then  was  all  our  meal  spent,  and  our 
fowl  [birds  from  Hudson  Bay]  restie  [rusty?]  and  dry; 
but,  being  no  remed}-,  v/e  were  content  with  salt  broth 
for  dinner  and  the  half-fowl  for  supper.  Now  went  our 
candles  to  wrack,  and  Bennet,  our  cook,  made  a  mess  of 
meat  of  the  bones  of  the  fowl,  frying  them  with  candle 
grease.  Our  vinegar  was  shared,  and  to  every  man  a 
pound  of  candles  delivered  for  a  week,  as  a  great 
dainty.  .  .  . 

"Our  men  became  so  faint  that  they  could  not  stand 
at  the  helm,  but  were  fain  to  sit.  Then  Robert  Juet 
died  for  mere  want,  and  all  our  men  were  in  despair, 
.  .  .  and  our  last  fowl  were  in  the  steep  tub.  .  .  . 
Now  in  this  extremity  it  pleased  God  to  give  us  sight 
of  land." 

As  to  Hudson,  with  loyal  Staffe  and  their  sick  com- 
rades, the  record  runs:  "They  stood  out  of  the  ice,  the 
shallop  being  fast  to  the  stern,  and  so  they  cut  her  head 
fast.  .  .  .  We  saw  not  the  shallop,  or  ever  after."  Thus 
perished  Henry  Hudson,  the  man  who  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  metropolis  of  the  western  hemisphere,  who 
indirectly  enriched  the  world  by  hundreds  of  millions 
of  dollars  by  giving  to  it  the  fisheries  of  Spitzbergen 
and  the  fur  trade  of  Hudson  Bay.  To  the  day  of  his 
death  he  followed  the  noble  rule  of  life  set  forth  in  his 
own  words:   "To  achieve  what  they  have  undertaken. 


12  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


or  else  to  give  reason  wherefore  it  will  not  be. "  In 
geography  and  in  navigation,  in  history  and  in  romance, 
his  name  and  his  deeds  stand  forever  recorded. 

In  the  Homeric  centuries  Hudson  might  well  have 
been  deified,  and  even  in  this  age  he  has  become  in  a 
manner  mythological  among  the  sea-rovers  as  graphi- 
cally depicted  by  Kipling: 

"And  North  amid  the  hummocks, 

A  biscuit-toss  below, 
We  met  the  fearful  shallop 

That  frighted  whalers  know: 
For  down  a  cruel  ice-lane, 

That  opened  as  he  sped, 
We  saw  dead  Henry  Hudson 

Steer  North  by  West  his  dead.** 


FRANKLIN'S  CROSSING  OF  THE  BARREN 

GROUNDS 


FRANKLIN'S  CROSSING  OF  THE  BARREN 

GROUNDS 

"One  who  never  turned  his  back, 
But  marched  breast  forward, 
Never  doubted  clouds  would  break." 

— Browning. 

TRANGE  as  it  may  now  seem,  a  century  since  the 
entire  northern  coasts  of  North  America  were 
wholly  unknown,  save  at  two  isolated  and  widely 
separated  points — the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  and 
the  delta  of  the  Mackenzie.  The  mouth  of  the  Copper- 
mine was  a  seriousl}'  doubted  geographical  point,  as 
Hearne's  discovery  thereof  in  1771  was  made  without 
astronomical  observations;  though  he  did  reach  the 
sea  we  now  know  that  he  placed  the  mouth  of  the 
Coppermine  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  too 
far  to  the  north.  Mackenzie's  journey  to  the  delta  of 
the  great  river  that  bears  his  name  was  accepted  as 
accurate. 

In  the  renewed  efforts  of  Great  Britain  to  discover 
the  northwest  passage  and  outline  the  continental 
coasts  of  North  America,  it  was  deemed  important  to 
supplement  the  efforts  being  made  by  Parry  at  sea 
with  a  land  expedition.  For  this  purpose  it  selected 
neither  a  civilian  nor  a  soldier,  but  a  sailor  known  to 
the  world  in  history'  as  a  famous  arctic  explorer — Sir 


i6 


True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


John   Franklin — who  was  to  attain  enduring  fame  at 
the  price  of  his  life. 

Franklin  had  served  as  signal  officer  with  Nelson  at 
Trafalgar,  was  wounded  while  engaged  under  Packen- 
ham  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  had  commanded 
an  arctic  ship  under  Buchan  in  the  Spitzbergen  seas. 


locn^ 


Barren  Grounds  of  Northwestern  Canada. 

The  vicissitudes  of  Franklin  and  his  companions  while 
on  exploring  duty  in  Canada,  especially  while  crossing 
the  barren  grounds,  are  told  in  this  tale. 

A  dangerous  voyage  by  ship  through  Hudson  Straits 
brought  Franklin  and  his  companions,  Dr.  Richardson, 
Midshipmen  Hood  and  Back,  and  Seaman  Hepburn  to 
York  Factory,  Hudson  Bay,  at  the  end  of  August,  1819. 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  17 


Contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  local  agents,  he  started 
northward,  and  after  a  hazardous  journey  in  the  open- 
ing winter — involving  a  trip  of  seven  hundred  miles 
of  marches,  canoeing,  and  portages — reached  Cumber- 
land House. 

With  unreasonable  ambition  this  indomitable  man 
of  iron  pushed  northward  in  mid-winter  with  Back  and 
Hepburn,  on  a  journey  to  Fort  Chipewyan,  Athabasca 
Lake,  of  eight  hundred  and  fifty-seven  miles,  during 
which  the  whole  party  barely  failed  of  destruction. 
While  dogs  hauled  the  food  and  camp  gear,  the  men 
travelling  on  snow-shoes  were  pushed  to  keep  up  with 
the  dogs.  Being  mangeurs  de  lard  (novices  or  tender- 
feet),  they  suffered  intolerable  pain  in  their  swollen 
feet,  besides  suffering  horribly  from  the  blizzards  and 
extreme  cold,  the  temperature  at  times  falling  to  ninety 
degrees  below  the  freezing-point. 

The  sledges  were  of  the  Hudson  Bay  pattern,  differ- 
ing from  those  used  elsewhere.  They  are  made  of  two 
or  three  boards,  the  front  curving  upward,  fastened 
by  transverse  cleats  above.  They  are  so  thin  that  a 
heavily  laden  sledge  undulates  with  the  irregularities 
of  the  snow.  Less  than  two  feet  wide  as  a  rule,  they 
are  about  nine  feet  long,  and  have  around  the  edges  a 
lacing  by  which  the  load  is  secured. 

By  a  journey  of  fifteen  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
Franklin  verified  Hearne's  discovery  of  the  Coppermine, 
though  finding  its  latitude  and  longitude  very  far  out, 
and  later  he  built  and  wintered  at  Fort  Enterprise. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  only  complaint  that 


1 8  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

he  makes  of  his  summer  journey  were  the  insect  pescs 
— the  bull-dog  fly  that  carries  off  a  bit  of  flesh  at  each 
attack,  the  irritating  sand-fly,  and  the  mosquito.  Of 
the  latter  he  says:  "They  swarmed  under  our  blankets, 
goring  us  with  their  envenomed  trunks  and  steeping 
our  clothes  in  blood.  The  wound  is  infinitely  painful, 
and  when  multiplied  an  hundred-fold  for  many  succes- 
sive days  becomes  an  evil  of  such  magnitude  that  cold, 
famine,  and  every  other  concomitant  of  an  inhospitable 
climate  mxust  yield  pre-eminence  to  it.  The  mosquito, 
irritating  to  madness,  drives  the  buffalo  to  the  plains 
and  the  reindeer  to  the  sea-shore. " 

In  the  summer  of  1821  Frankhn  descended  the 
Coppermine  River,  and  in  a  canoe  voyage  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  eastward  discovered 
the  waters  and  bordering  lands  of  Bathurst  Inlet, 
Coronation  Gulf,  and  as  far  as  Dease  Inlet.  The  very 
day  that  he  was  forced  by  failing  food  to  turn  back. 
Captain  Parry,  R.N.,  in  the  Fury,  sailed  out  of  Re- 
pulse Bay  five  hundred  and  forty  miles  to  the  east. 

With  the  utmost  reluctance  Franklin  saw  the  neces- 
sity for  a  speedy  return.  It  was  now  the  22d  of  August, 
the  nights  were  fast  lengthening,  the  deer  were  already 
migrating,  and  the  air  was  full  of  honking  wild  geese 
flying  in  long  lines  to  the  south.  Both  canoes  were 
badl}'-  damaged,  one  having  fifteen  timbers  broken. 
The  other  was  so  racked  and  warped  that  repairs  were 
impracticable,  the  birch  bark  being  in  danger  of  sepa- 
rating from  the  gunwales  at  any  severe  shock. 

One    man    had   frozen   his   thighs,   and   the   others, 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  19 

shaken  in  mind  and  worn  in  body,  unaccustomed  to 
the  sea,  were  in  such  a  demoralized  state  that  two  of 
them  threw  away  deer  meat,  sadly  needed,  to  lighten 
the  boats.  Sudden  cold  set  in  with  snow,  a  fierce  bliz- 
zard blew  up  a  high  sea,  and  the  inland  pools  froze 
over.  Return  by  sea  was  clearly  impossible,  and  the 
only  chance  of  saving  their  lives  was  to  ascend  Hood 
River  and  reach  Fort  Enterprise  by  a  land  journey 
across  the  barren  grounds,  so  dreaded  and  avoided  by 
the  Indians  and  the  Eskimos. 

With  the  subsiding  gale  they  put  to  sea  along  the 
coast,  and  in  three  days  entered  Hood  River,  though 
at  times  with  utmost  difficulty  escaping  foundering,  as 
sa3's  Franklin:  "The  waves  were  so  high  that  the  mast- 
head of  our  canoe  was  often  hid  from  the  other,  though 
it  was  sailing  within  hail." 

Once  landed  on  the  river  bank,  the  mercurial  voya- 
geurs,  unmindful  of  the  difficult  and  dangerous  march 
before  them,  were  in  most  joyful  mood.  They  spent 
a  gay  evening  before  a  large  camp-fire,  bursting  into 
song,  reciting  the  novel  perils  of  the  sea  now  past,  and 
exaggerating  with  quaint  humor  every  little  incident. 

With  the  vigor  of  famishing  men  they  scoured  the 
country  for  game,  and  nets  were  skilfully  set  under  cas- 
cade falls,  which  yielded  the  first  morning  a  dozen  trout 
and  white-fish.  On  these  they  made  a  delicious  meal, 
seasoned  by  abundant  berries,  for  in  this  country  there 
remain  on  the  bushes  throughout  the  winter  cranber- 
ries and  red  whortleberries. 

The  voyageurs  were  quite  worn  out  poling  their  boats 


True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


up  the  rapids  of  Hood  River.  At  times  it  was  even  need- 
ful to  take  out  the  loads  and,  wading  knee-deep  in  the 
ice-cold  waters,  drag  the  boats  across  the  many  shoals. 
One  day  Franklin  was  dismayed,  though  the  men  were 
quite  indifferent,  at  coming  to  impassable  rapids.  They 
proved  to  be  the  lower  section  of  a  series  of  wonder- 
ful cascades  which  could  be  passed  neither  by  trav- 
ersing nor  by  portage.  For  the  distance  of  a  mile  the 
river  was  enclosed  by  solid,  perpendicular  walls  of  sand- 
stone, shutting  the  stream  into  a  canyon  that  was  in 
places  only  a  few  yards  wide.  In  this  single  mile  the 
stream  fell  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  forming  two  high 
falls  and  a  number  of  successive  rapids.  A  survey  of 
the  upper  river  proved  its  unnavigability  even  had 
a  portage  been  possible.  The  crossing  of  the  barren 
grounds  was  thus  lengthened  far  beyond  Franklin's 
expectations. 

Franklin,  meantime,  determining  by  astronomical  ob- 
servations the  location  of  his  camp  on  Hood  River,  in- 
formed the  men  that  they  were  only  one  hundred  and 
fift}^  miles  from  Point  Lake,  which  was  opposite  Fort 
Enterprise,  their  starting-point  the  previous  spring. 
The  voyageurs  received  this  news  with  great  joy,  think- 
ing it  to  be  a  short  journey,  as  they  had  had  no  experi- 
ence with  the  barren  region.  Franklin  was  not  so  cheer- 
ful, as  accounts  of  the  desolation  from  various  sources 
had  made  him  alive  to  the  certain  hardships  and  possi- 
ble dangers  of  the  march.  He  decided  to  omit  no  pre- 
caution that  would  relieve  or  obviate  the  hardships. 

Besides  the  five  Englishmen,  there  were  fifteen  voya- 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  21 

geurs,  of  whom  two  were  Eskimo  hunters,  two  inter- 
preters, an  Itahan,  an  Iroquois  Indian,  and  nine  Cana- 
dian half-breeds.  All  were  men  inured  to  hard  service 
and  familiar  with  frontier  hfe. 

The  large  boats  were  taken  apart,  and  from  this 
material  were  built  two  small  portable  canoes  which 
were  fit  to  carry  three  men  across  any  stream  that 
might  be  discovered  in  this  trackless  and  unexplored 
desert.  Such  books,  clothing,  supplies,  and  equipment 
as  were  not  absolutely  necessary  for  the  journey  were 
cached  so  as  to  reduce  the  loads  to  be  carried  in  the 
men's  packs.  The  tanned  skins  that  had  been  brought 
along  for  the  purpose  of  replacin;^  worn-out  moccasins 
were  equally  divided,  and  strong  extra  foot-gear  was 
made  up  with  great  care.  Each  one  was  given  two  pairs 
of  flannel  socks  and  other  warm  clothing,  for  freezing 
weather  had  come  to  stay.  One  tent  was  taken  for 
the  men  and  another  for  the  officers. 

On  the  last  day  of  August  the  party  started  in  Indian 
file,  each  man  carrying  ninet}'-  pounds,  and  the  officers 
according  to  their  strength.  The  luggage  consisted 
of  their  little  stock  of  pemmican,  tents,  ammunition, 
fishing-nets,  hatchets,  instruments,  extra  clothing, 
sleeping  and  cooking  gear.  Each  officer  had  a  gun,  his 
field  journals,  instruments,  etc.,  and  two  men  were 
told  off  daily  to  carry  the  cumbersome  and  hated 
canoe.  They  were  so  heavily  laden  that  they  made  only 
a  mile  an  hour,  including  frequent  rests.  The  voya- 
geurs  complained  from  the  first  at  taking  two  canoes, 
and  were  but  half  convinced  when  the  raging  Hood 


22  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

River  was  speedily  crossed  by  lashing  the  two  canoes 
together. 

Their  important  vegetable  food,  berries,  failed  a  few 
miles  from  the  river,  and  as  very  little  game  was  seen 
the}'^  were  obliged  to  eat  the  last  of  their  pemmican  on 
September  4.  As  a  bhzzard  sprang  up  the  next  morn- 
ing, the  party  was  storm-bound  for  two  days — passed 
without  food  or  fire,  their  usual  fuel,  moss,  failing,  as  it 
was  covered  with  snow  and  ice.  The  temperature  fell 
to  twenty  degrees  and  the  wet  tents  and  damp  blankets 
were  frozen  in  solid  masses.  On  breaking  camp  Frank- 
lin fainted  from  exhaustion,  cold,  and  hunger.  Dr. 
Richardson  revived  him,  against  his  protest,  with  a  bit 
of  portable  soup  which,  with  a  little  arrow-root  for  sick- 
ness, was  the  only  remaining  food. 

The  snow  was  now  a  foot  deep  and  travel  lay  across 
swamps  where  the  new,  thin  ice  constantly  broke, 
plunging  the  wretched  men  up  to  their  knees  in  ice- 
cold  water.  To  add  to  their  misfortunes,  Benoit,  to 
Franklin's  distress,  fell  and  broke  the  larger  of  the 
canoes  into  pieces;  worst  of  all,  he  was  suspected  of 
doing  so  maliciously,  having  threatened  to  destroy  the 
canoe  whenever  it  should  be  his  turn  to  carry  it.  Frank- 
lin chose  to  ignore  this  mutinous  conduct  and  resource- 
fully utilized  the  accident.  Halting  the  march  and 
causing  a  fire  to  be  made  of  the  birch  bark  and  the  tim- 
bers, he  ordered  the  men  to  cook  and  distribute  the 
last  of  the  portable  soup  and  the  arrow-root.  Though 
a  scanty  meal,  it  cheered  them  all  up,  being  the  first 
food  after  three  days  of  fasting. 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  23 


After  a  march  of  two  days  along  the  river  bank,  they 
struck  across  the  barren  grounds,  taking  a  direct  com- 
pass course  for  Point  Lake.  The  country  was  already 
covered  with  snow  and  high  winds  also  impeded  their 
progress.  In  many  places  the  ground  was  found  to 
have  on  its  surface  numberless  small,  rolling  stones, 
which  often  caused  the  heavily  burdened  voyageurs  to 
stumble  and  fall,  so  that  much  damage  was  done  to 
loads,  especially  to  the  frail  canoe.  As  the  only  foot- 
gear consisted  of  moccasins  made  of  soft,  pliant  moose- 
skin,  the  men  soon  suffered  great  pain  from  frequent 
stone-bruises,  which  delayed  the  march  as  the  cripples 
could  only  limp  along. 

The  barren  grounds  soon  justified  their  name,  for, 
though  an  occasional  animal  was  seen  and  killed,  the 
men  more  often  went  hungry.  The  deep  snow  and  the 
level  country  obliged  Franklin  to  adopt  special  methods 
to  avoid  wandering  from  the  direct  compass  route,  and 
the  party  travelled  in  single  file,  Indian  fashion.  The 
voyageurs  took  turns  breaking  the  path  through  the 
snow,  and  to  this  leader  was  indicated  a  distant  object 
toward  which  he  travelled  as  directly  as  possible.  Mid- 
shipman Hood  followed  far  enough  in  the  rear  to  be 
able  to  correct  the  course  of  the  trail-breaker,  to  whom 
were  pointed  out  from  time  to  time  new  objects.  This 
method  of  travel  was  followed  during  the  whole  journej^ 
meeting  with  great  success. 

In  time  they  reached  a  hill}^  region,  most  barren  to 
the  eye  but  where  most  fortunatel}^  were  found  on  the 
large  rocks  edible  lichens  of  the  genus  gyrophora,  v/hich 


24  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

were  locally  known  to  the  voyageurs  as  tripe  de  roche 
(rock-tripe).  Ten  partridges  had  been  shot  during 
the  day's  march,  half  a  bird  to  a  man,  and  with  the 
abundant  lichens  a  palatable  mess  was  made  over  a  fire 
of  bits  of  the  arctic  willow  dug  up  from  beneath  the 
snow.  Franklin  that  night,  which  was  unusually  cold, 
adopted  the  plan,  now  common  among  arctic  sledge- 
men,  of  sleeping  with  his  wet  socks  and  moccasins  un- 
der him,  thus  by  the  heat  of  the  body  drying  them  in 
part,  and  above  all  preventing  them  from  freezing  hard. 

Coming  to  a  rapid-flowing  river,  they  were  obliged 
to  follow  it  up  to  find  a  possible  crossing.  They  were 
fortunate  to  find  a  grove  of  small  willows,  which  en- 
abled them  to  make  a  fire  and  thus  apply  gum  to  the 
very  much  damaged  canoe.  Though  the  operation  was 
a  very  ticklish  one,  three  of  the  voyageurs  under  Saint 
Germain,  the  interpreter,  managed  the  canoe  with  such 
dexterity  as  to  ferry  over  one  passenger  at  a  time,  caus- 
ing him  to  lie  flat  in  the  canoe,  a  most  uncomfortable 
situation  owing  to  the  cold  water  that  steadily  seeped 
into  the  boat. 

Starvation  meals  on  an  occasional  grouse,  with  the 
usual  tripe  de  roche,  caused  great  rejoicing  when,  after 
long  stalking,  the  hunters  killed  a  musk-cow.  The 
ravenous  condition  of  the  voyageurs  was  evident  from 
Franklin's  statement  that  "the  contents  of  its  stomach 
were  devoured  on  the  spot  and  the  raw  intestines,  which 
were  next  attacked,  were  pronounced  by  the  most  del- 
icate of  us  to  be  excellent.  This  was  the  sixth  day 
since  we  had  had  a  good  meal;  the  tripe  de  roche,  even 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds 


when  we  got  enough,  only  served  to  allay  hunger  a 
short  time." 

Suffering  continual  privations  from  hunger,  they 
reached  Rum  Lake,  where  the  supper  for  twenty  men 
was  a  single  partridge  with  some  excellent  berries. 
There  was  still  trips  de  roche  to  be  had,  but  "this  un- 
palatable weed  was  now  quite  nauseous  to  the  whole 
party,  and  in  several  cases  it  produced  bowel  com- 
plaints. " 

Franklin  considered  that  the  safety  of  the  men  could 
now  be  insured  through  the  lake  fishing,  as  most  of  the 
voyageurs  were  experts  with  the  net  from  having  long 
lived  at  points  where  they  depended  on  fish  for  their 
food.  His  consternation  almost  gave  way  to  despair 
when  he  discovered  the  fatal  improvidence  of  the  voya- 
geurs, who,  to  lessen  their  burdens  by  a  few  pounds,  had 
thrown  away  the  fishing-nets  and  burned  the  floats. 
"They  knew  [says  Franklin]  we  had  brought  them  to 
procure  subsistence  for  the  party,  when  the  animals 
should  fail,  and  we  could  scarcely  believe  the  fact  of 
their  having  deprived  themselves  of  this  resource," 
which  eventually  caused  the  death  of  the  majority  of 
the  party. 

Franklin  at  once  lightened  the  loads  of  his  sadly 
weakened  men  by  abandoning  everything  save  astro- 
nomical instruments,  without  which  he  could  not  de- 
termine correctly  their  route.  Under  these  disheart- 
ening circumstances,  the  captain's  heart  was  cheered 
beyond  measure  by  an  act  of  heroic  generosity  on  the 
part  of  one  of  his  starving  men.     As  the}'  were  start- 


26  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

ing  on  the  march  Perrault  came  forward  and  gave  to 
€ach  officer  a  bit  of  meat  that  he  had  saved  from  his 
own  allowance.  Franklin  says:  **It  was  received  with 
great  thankfulness,  and  such  an  act  of  self-denial  and 
kindness,  being  entirely  unexpected  in  a  Canadian 
voyageur,  filled  our  eyes  with  tears. " 

A  short  time  after,  Credit,  one  of  the  hunters,  came 
in  with  the  grateful  news  that  he  had  killed  a  deer. 

The  same  day  there  was  a  striking  display  of  cour- 
age, skill,  and  endurance  on  the  part  of  one  of  the 
men  indicative  of  the  mettle  of  these  uncultured  voy- 
ageurs.  In  crossing  a  river  the  first  boat-load  con- 
sisted of  Saint  Germain,  Solomon  Belanger,  and  Frank- 
lin. Driven  by  a  strong  current  to  the  edge  of  a  danger- 
ous rapid,  Beranger  lost  his  balance  and  upset  the  canoe 
in  the  rapid.  All  held  fast  to  the  frail  craft  and  were 
carried  to  a  point  where  they  touched  a  rock  and  gained 
their  footing,  although  up  to  their  waists  in  the  stream. 
Emptying  the  canoe  of  water,  Belanger  held  the  boat 
steady  whilst  Saint  Germain  placed  Franklin  in  it  and 
embarked  himself  in  a  dexterous  manner.  As  it  was 
impossible  to  get  Belanger  in  the  boat,  they  started 
down  the  river  and  after  another  submersion  reached 
the  opposite  shore. 

Belanger's  position  was  one  of  extreme  danger  and 
his  sufferings  were  extreme.  He  v/as  immersed  to  his 
waist  in  water  near  the  freezing-point,  and,  worse  yet, 
his  upper  body,  clothed  with  wet  garments,  was  exposed 
to  a  high  wind  of  a  temperature  not  much  above  zero. 
Two  voyageurs  tried  vainly  in  turn  to  reach  him  with 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  27 


the  canoe,  but  the  current  was  too  strong.  A  quick- 
witted voyageur  caused  the  shngs  to  be  stripped  from 
the  men's  packs  and  sent  out  the  hne  toward  Belanger, 
but  just  as  he  was  about  to  catch  it  the  hne  broke  and 
the  shngs  were  carried  away.  Fortunately  there  was 
at  hand  a  small,  strong  cord  attached  to  a  fishing-net. 
When  Belanger's  strength  was  about  gone  the  canoe 
reached  him  with  this  cord  and  he  was  dragged  quite 
senseless  to  the  shore.  Dr.  Richardson  had  him 
stripped  instantly,  wrapped  him  up  in  dry  blankets, 
and  two  men  taking  off  their  clothes  aided  by  their 
bodil}^  heat  in  bringing  the  sufferer  to  consciousness 
an  hour  or  so  later. 

Meantime  the  distracted  Frankhn  was  watching  this 
desperate  struggle  from  the  farther  bank,  where  with 
drenched  and  freezing  clothes  he  was  without  musket, 
blankets,  hatchet,  or  any  means  of  making  a  fire.  If 
this  betossed  canoe  was  lost  the  intrepid  commander 
and  all  the  men  would  have  perished.  It  is  to  be  noted, 
as  characteristic  of  the  man,  that  in  his  journal  Franklin 
makes  no  mention  of  his  sufferings,  but  dwells  on  his 
anxiety  for  the  safetv  of  Belanger,  while  deploring  also 
the  loss  of  his  field  journal  and  the  scientific  records. 

The  loss  of  all  their  pack-slings  in  rescuing  Belanger 
somewhat  delayed  their  march,  but  with  the  skill  and 
resourcefulness  gained  by  life  in  the  wilds,  the  voya- 
geurs  made  quite  serviceable  substitute  slings  from 
their  clothing  and  sleeping-gear. 

Conditions  grew  harder  from  day  to  day,  and  soon 
the  only  endurable  situation  was  on  the  march,   for 


28  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

then  they  were  at  least  warm.  The  usual  joy  of  the 
trapper's  life  was  gone — the  evening  camp  with  its 
hours  of  quiet  rest,  its  blazing  fire,  the  full  pipe,  the 
good  meal,  and  the  tales  of  personal  prowess  or  advent- 
ure. Now,  with  either  no  supper  or  a  scanty  bit  of 
food,  the  camp  was  a  place  of  gloom  and  discomfort. 
Of  the  routine  Franklin  writes:  "The  first  operation 
after  camping  was  to  thaw  out  our  frozen  shoes,  if  a 
fire  could  be  made,  and  put  on  dry  ones.  Each  wrote 
his  daily  notes  and  evening  prayers  were  read.  Supper 
if  any  was  eaten  generally  in  the  dark.  Then  to  bed, 
where  a  cheerful  conversation  was  kept  up  until  our 
blankets  were  thawed  by  the  heat  of  our  bodies  and  we 
were  warm  enough  to  go  to  sleep.  Many  nights  there 
was  not  enough  fire  to  dry  our  shoes;  we  durst  not 
venture  to  pull  them  off  lest  they  should  freeze  so 
hard  as  to  be  unfit  to  put  on  in  the  morning." 

Game  so  utterly  failed  that  the  hunters  rarely  brought 
in  anything  but  a  partridge.  Often  they  were  days 
without  food,  and  at  times,  faint  and  exhausted,  the 
men  could  scarcely  stagger  through  the  deep  snow. 
Midshipman  Hood  became  so  weak  that  Dr.  Richard- 
son had  to  replace  him  as  the  second  man  in  the  march- 
ing file,  who  kept  the  path-breaking  leader  straight  on 
the  compass  course.  The  voyageurs  were  in  such  a 
state  of  frenzy  that  they  would  have  thrown  away 
their  packs  and  deserted  Franklin,  but  they  were  unable 
to  decide  on  a  course  that  would  insure  their  safe 
arrival  at  Fort  Enterprise. 

Now  and  then  there  were  gleams  of  encouragement — * 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  29 

a  deer  or  a  few  ptarmigan;  and  once  they  thought  they 
had  a  treasure-trove  in  a  large  plot  of  iceland  moss. 
Though  nutritious  when  boiled,  it  was  so  acrid  and 
bitter  that  only  a  few  could  eat  more  than  a  mouthful 
or  two. 

After  six  days  of  cloudy  weather,  Franklin  got  the 
sun  and  found  by  observation  that  he  was  six  miles 
south  of  the  place  where  he  was  to  strike  Point  Lake, 
the  error  being  due  to  their  ignorance  of  the  local  de- 
viation of  the  compass  by  which  they  had  laid  out  their 
route.  When  the  course  was  changed  the  suspicious 
voyageurs  thought  that  they  were  lost,  and  gave  little 
credit  to  Franklin's  assurances  that  they  were  within 
sixty  miles  of  Fort  Enterprise.  Dr.  Richardson  was 
now  so  weak  that  he  had  to  abandon  his  beloved  plants 
and  precious  mineral  specimens. 

Their  misfortunes  culminated  when  the  remaining 
canoe  was  badly  broken,  and  the  men,  despite  entreaties 
and  commands,  refused  to  carry  it  farther.  Franklin 
says:  "My  anguish  was  beyond  my  power  to  describe 
it.  The  men  seemed  to  have  lost  all  hope,  and  all 
arguments  failed  to  stimulate  them  to  the  least  exer- 
tion. 

When  Lieutenant  Back  and  the  Eskimo  hunters 
started  ahead  to  search  for  game,  the  Canadians  burst 
into  a  rage,  alleged  an  intended  desertion,  threw  down 
their  packs,  and  announced  that  it  was  now  to  be  every 
one  for  himself.  Partly  by  entreaties  and  partly  by 
threats,  for  the  officers  were  all  armed  (and  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  Franklin  sent  the  fleetest  runner  of  the 


30  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

party  to  recall  the  hunters),  the  voyageurs  finally  con- 
sented to  hold  together  as  a  party. 

Death  by  starvation  appeared  inevitable,  but  with 
his  commanding  presence  and  heroic  courage  the  cap- 
tain was  able  to  instil  into  the  men  some  of  his  own 
spirit  of  hope  and  effort.  As  they  were  now  on  the 
summer  pasturage  grounds  of  large  game,  they  were 
fortunate  enough  to  find  here  and  there  scattered  horns 
and  bones  of  reindeer — refuse  abandoned  even  by  the 
wolves.  These  were  eagerly  gathered  up,  and  after 
being  made  friable  by  fire  were  ravenously  devoured 
to  prolong  life,  as  were  scraps  of  leather  and  the  rem- 
nants of  their  worn-out  moose-skin  moccasins. 

September  26  brought  them,  in  the  last  stages  of 
life,  to  the  banks  of  the  Coppermine,  within  forty  miles 
of  their  destination.  The  misguided  voyageurs  then 
declared  themselves  safe,  as  for  once  they  were  warm 
and  full  of  food,  for  the  hunters  had  killed  five  deer  and 
they  came  across  a  willow  grove  which  gave  them  a 
glorious  camp-fire.  But  the  seeds  of  disloyalty  and 
selfishness  now  blossomed  into  demoralization.  After 
gorging  on  their  own  meat  two  of  the  voyageurs  stole 
part  of  the  meat  set  aside  for  the  officers. 

The  question  of  crossing  the  Coppermine,  a  broad 
stream  full  of  rapids,  was  now  one  of  life  or  death. 
With  remorse  nearly  bordering  on  desperation,  the 
Canadians  now  saw  that  the  despised  and  abandoned 
canoe  was  their  real  ark  of  safety.  Following  the  banks 
for  miles,  no  ford  could  be  found  despite  the  closest 
search.     Franklin    fixed    on    two    plans    for    crossing. 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  31 


either  by  a  raft  of  willows,  which  grew  in  quantities 
near  by,  or  by  a  canvas  boat  to  be  made  by  stretching 
over  a  willow  framework  parts  of  tents  still  in  hand. 
The  voyageurs  arrogantly  scouted  both  expedients,  but 
after  wasting  three  precious  days  wrangling  they  built 
a  willow  raft.  When  done  its  buoyancy  was  so  slight 
that  only  one  man  could  be  supported  by  it.  It  was 
thought,  however,  that  a  crossing  could  be  made  by 
getting  a  line  across  the  river  by  which  the  raft  could 
be  pulled  to  and  fro.  As  an  incitement  to  exertion, 
Franklin  offered  to  the  voyageur  who  should  take  a 
line  across  the  sum  of  three  hundred  livres  (sixty  dol- 
lars), a  large  amount  for  any  of  these  men.  Two  of  the 
strongest  men  failed  in  their  efforts  to  work  the  raft 
across,  the  stream  being  rapid  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty  yards  across.  The  single  paddle,  brought  by 
Richardson  all  these  weary  miles  from  the  sea-shore, 
was  too  feeble,  and  two  tent-poles  lashed  together  were 
not  long  enough  to  reach  bottom  a  short  distance  from 
the  shore.  Repeated  failures  demoralized  the  voya- 
geurs, who  cried  out  with  common  accord  that  they 
were  lost. 

Dr.  Richardson  now  felt  that  the  time  had  come  to 
venture  his  life  for  the  safety  of  the  party,  and  so 
offered  to  swim  across  the  Coppermine  with  a  line  by 
which  the  raft  could  be  hauled  over.  As  he  stripped 
his  gaunt  frame  looked  rather  like  a  skeleton  than 
a  living  man.  At  the  sight  the  Canadians  all  cried 
out  at  once,  **Ah!  que  nous  sommes  maigres!"  ("Oh! 
how  thin  we  are!").     As  the  doctor  was  entering  the 


32  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

river  he  stepped  on  a  dagger  which  had  been  carelessly 
left  on  the  ground.  It  cut  him  to  the  bone,  but  he  did 
not  draw  back  for  a  second.  Pain  was  nothing  to  the 
lives  of  his  comrades. 

With  the  hne  fastened  around  his  waist,  he  plunged 
into  the  stream.  Before  he  reached  the  middle  of  the 
river  his  arms  were  so  benumbed  by  the  cold  water, 
which  was  only  six  degrees  above  the  freezing-point, 
that  he  could  no  longer  use  them  in  swimming.  Some 
of  the  men  cried  out  that  he  was  gone,  but  the  doctor 
was  not  at  the  end  of  his  resources,  and  turning  on  his 
back  he  swam  on  in  that  way.  His  comrades  watched 
him  with  renewed  anxiety.  Could  he  succeed  or  must 
he  fail?  Were  they  to  be  saved  or  not.?  The  swim- 
mer's progress  became  slower  and  slower,  but  still  he 
moved  on.  When  almost  within  reaching  distance  of 
the  other  bank  his  legs  failed  also,  and  to  the  intense 
alarm  of  the  Canadians  he  sank.  The  voyageurs  in- 
stantly hauled  on  the  line,  which  brought  him  to  the 
surface,  and  he  was  drawn  to  the  shore  in  an  uncon- 
scious and  almost  lifeless  condition.  He  was  rubbed 
dry,  his  limbs  chafed,  and,  still  unconscious,  was  rolled 
up  in  blankets  and  placed  before  a  very  hot  fire.  In 
their  zeal  the  men  nearly  caused  the  death  of  the  doc- 
tor, for  he  was  put  so  near  the  fire  that  the  intense  heat 
scorched  his  left  side  so  badly  that  it  remained  deprived 
of  most  sensation  for  several  months.  Fortunately  he 
regained  consciousness  in  time  to  give  some  slight 
directions  about  his  proper  treatment. 

Apart  from  the  failure  of  Richardson  to  cross  the 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  33 

river,  the  spirits  of  the  party  were  more  cast  clown  by 
the  loss  of  Junius,  the  best  hunter  of  the  party.  Taking 
the  field  as  usual,  the  Eskimo  failed  to  return,  and  no 
traces  could  be  found  of  him. 

As  a  final  resort  they  adopted  a  plan  first  advanced 
by  Franklin,  and  the  ingenious  interpreter,  Saint  Ger- 
main, offered  to  make  a  canvas  boat  by  stretching 
across  a  willow  framework  the  painted,  water-proof 
canvas  in  which  the  bedding  was  wrapped.  Mean- 
while the  general  body  of  the  voyageurs  was  in  such 
depths  of  indifference  that  they  even  preferred  to  go 
without  food  rather  than  to  make  the  least  exertion, 
and  they  refused  to  pick  the  tripe  de  roche  on  which  the 
party  now  existed.  Franklin  records  that  "the  sense 
of  hunger  was  no  longer  felt  by  any  of  us,  yet  we  were 
scarcely  able  to  converse  on  any  other  subject  than  the 
pleasures  of  eating. " 

Finally  the  canoe  was  finished  on  October  4,  and, 
proving  water-tight,  the  whole  party  was  ferried  safely 
across,  one  at  a  time.  The  week  lost  by  ignoring 
Franklin's  orders  proved  the  destruction  of  the  party 
as  a  whole. 

This  was  not  the  view  of  the  voyageurs,  who  were 
now  as  joyful  that  they  were  within  forty  miles  of  the 
station  as  they  had  been  downcast  the  day  before 
crossing,  when  one  of  them  stole  a  partridge  given 
Hood,  whose  stomach  refused  the  lichens.  Of  this 
mercurial  change  Franklin  says:  "Their  spirits  im- 
mediately revived,  each  shook  the  officers  by  the 
hand,    declared    the    worst    of   their    difficulties    over, 


34  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

and  did  not  doubt  reaching  Fort  Enterprise  in  a 
few  da)^s." 

Franklin  at  once  sent  Back  with  three  men  ahead  for 
assistance  from  Fort  Enterprise,  as  previous  arrange- 
ments had  been  made  with  a  Hudson  Bay  agent  to 
supply  the  station  with  provisions  and  to  have  Indians 
there  as  hunters. 

The  rear  guard  following  slowly  found  no  food  save 
lichens,  and  so  began  to  eat  their  shoes  and  bits  of  their 
bedding  robes.  On  the  third  march  two  voyageurs  fell 
exhausted  on  the  trail,  and  despite  the  encouraging 
efforts  of  their  comrades  thus  perished.  To  give  aid  to 
the  failing  men,  to  relieve  the  packs  from  the  weight  of 
the  tent,  and  to  enable  Franklin  to  go  ahead  unencum- 
bered by  the  weakest.  Dr.  Richardson  asked  that  he  be 
left  with  Hood  and  Hepburn  at  such  place  as  fuel  and 
tripe  de  roche  were  plentiful,  which  was  done,  relief  to 
be  sent  to  them  from  the  station  as  soon  as  possible. 
Of  this  Franklin  says:  "Distressed  beyond  descrip- 
tion at  leaving  them  in  such  a  dangerous  situation,  I 
long  combated  their  proposal,  and  reluctantly  acceded 
when  they  strenuously  urged  that  this  step  afforded 
the  only  chance  of  safety  for  the  party.  After  we  had 
united  in  thanksgiving  and  prayers  to  Almight}"  God,  I 
separated  from  my  companions  deeply  afflicted.  Dr. 
Richardson  was  influenced  in  his  resolution  to  remain 
by  the  desire  which  influenced  his  character  of  devoting 
himself  to  the  succor  of  the  weak  and  Hepburn  by  the 
zealous  attachment  toward  his  officers." 

The  nine  other  voyageurs  given  their  choice  went  for- 


Franklin  on  the  Barren  Grounds  35 

ward  with  Frankhn,  but  Michel  Teroahaute,  the  Iro- 
quois Indian,  and  two  Canadians  returned  next  day  to 
Richardson's  camp. 

On  his  arrival  at  Fort  Enterprise  on  October  14, 
Franklin  for  the  first  time  lost  heart,  the  station  being 
unprovisioned  and  desolate.  A  note  from  the  indefat- 
igable Back  told  that  he  was  seeking  aid  from  roving 
Indians  or  at  the  nearest  Hudson  Bay  post. 

Franklin  says:  "It  would  be  impossible  to  describe 
our  sensations  after  discovering  how  we  had  been  neg- 
lected. The  whole  party  shed  tears,  not  for  our  own 
fate,  but  for  that  of  our  friends  in  the  rear,  whose  lives 
depended  entirely  on  our  sending  immediate  rehef. " 

On  October  29  Richardson  came  in  with  the  horrible 
news  that  two  voyageurs  had  died  on  the  trail,  that  the 
Iroquois  Indian,  Michel,  had  murdered  Hood,  and  that 
in  self-defence  he  had  been  obliged  to  shoot  Michel. 

Pending  the  relief  of  the  party,  which  was  on  Novem- 
ber 7,  the  members  existed  on  Labrador  tea  (an  in- 
fusion from  a  plant  thus  used  by  the  Indians),  on 
lichens,  and  the  refuse  of  deer  killed  the  year  before. 
The  deerskins  gathered  up  in  the  neighborhood  were 
singed  of  their  hair  and  then  roasted,  while  the  horns 
and  bones  were  either  roasted  or  used  in  soup.  Two  of 
the  Canadians  died  on  this  diet.  Of  a  partridge  shot 
and  divided  into  six  portions  Franklin  says:  "I  and 
my  companions  ravenously  devoured  our  shares,  as  it 
was  the  first  morsel  of  flesh  any  of  us  had  tasted  for 
thirty-one  days." 

The  praiseworthy  conduct  of  Franklin   and  of  his 


36  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

companions  in  prosecuting  the  work  of  outlining  the 
arctic  coasts  of  North  America  is  not  to  be  measured 
alone  by  the  fortitude  and  courage  shown  in  crossing 
the  barren  grounds.  An  unusual  sense  of  duty,  akin  to 
heroism,  could  alone  have  inspired  Franklin  and  Rich- 
ardson to  attempt  the  exploration  under  the  adverse 
conditions  then  prevailing  in  that  country.  A  war- 
fare, practically  of  extermination,  was  then  in  progress 
between  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  and  the  North- 
western Company.  This  struggle,  under  the  instiga- 
tion of  misguided  agents,  aroused  the  worst  passions  of 
both  half-breeds  and  of  Indians,  who  were  demoralized 
by  the  distribution  of  spirits.  By  diversions  of  hunters 
many  people  were  starved,  while  others  were  murdered 
outright.  Franklin's  sad  experiences  in  the  public  ser- 
vice at  Fort  Enterprise  were  duplicated  by  the  star- 
vation and  deaths  of  innocent  people  at  other  remote 
points  through  commercial  cupidity  or  rivalry. 

Disastrous  and  lamentable  as  was  the  outcome  of 
the  journey  across  the  barren  lands,  it  indicated  in  a 
striking  manner  the  superior  staying  powers  of  the  Eng- 
lish as  pitted  against  the  hardy  voyageurs — Canadians, 
Eskimos,  Indians,  and  half-breeds.  Five  of  the  fifteen 
voyageurs  perished  and  one  of  the  English.  Doubt- 
less the  latter  survived  largely  through  their  powers  of 
will,  acts  of  energy  and  of  heroic  devotion  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  party — one  and  all. 


THE  RETREAT  OF  ROSS  FROM  THE 

VICTORY 


THE  RETREAT  OF  ROSS  FROM  THE  FICTORY 

"  For  there  is  none  of  you  so  mean  and  base 
That  hath  not  noble  lustre  in  your  eyes." 

— Shakespeare. 

J^MONG  the  many  notable  voyages  in  search  of 
/"^^  the  northwest  passage,  although  less  spectac- 
ular in  phases  of  adventurous  exploration  than 
some  others,  there  is  none  which  deserves  more  care- 
ful examination  than  that  of  Sir  John  Ross  in  the  Vic- 
tory. Not  only  did  this  vo3'age  make  most  important 
contributions  to  the  various  branches  of  science,  but 
it  was  unequalled  for  its  duration  and  unsurpassed  in 
variety  of  experiences.  It  w^as  fitted  out  as  a  private 
expedition,  largel}^  at  the  expense  of  Felix  Booth,  sheriff 
of  London,  was  absent  from  1829  to  1833,  and  was 
the  first  arctic  expedition  to  use  steam  as  a  motive 
power. 

Sailing  in  the  small  paddle-wheel  steamer  Fictory, 
Ross  passed  through  Baffin  Ba}^  into  Lancaster  Sound, 
whence  he  shaped  his  course  to  the  south.  Discovering 
the  eastern  shores  of  North  Somerset  and  of  Boothia, 
he  put  his  ship  into  winter  quarters  at  Felix  Harbor, 
which  became  his  base  of  operations.  Rarely  have  such 
valuable  explorations  been  made  without  disaster  or 
even  serious  hardships.  Boothia  was  found  to  be  the 
most  northerly  apex  of  the  continent  of  North  America, 

39 


40  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

while  to  its  west  King  William  Land  and  other  extended 
areas  were  discovered. 

Of  surpassing  interest  and  importance  was  the  mag- 
netic work  done  by  James  Clark  Ross,  a  nephew  of  Sir 
John.  Many  persons  do  not  realize  that  the  place  to 
which  constantly  points  the  north  end  of  the  needle  of 
the  magnetic  compass  is  not  the  north  geographic  pole. 
The  locality  to  which  the  compass  turns  is,  in  fact, 
nearly  fourteen  hundred  miles  to  the  south  of  the  north 
pole.  With  this  expedition  in  1830,  James  Clark  Ross 
by  his  many  observations  proved  that  the  north  mag- 
netic pole,  to  which  the  needle  of  the  compass  points, 
was  then  very  near  Cape  Adelaide,  in  70°  05'  north 
latitude,  96°  44'  west  longitude.* 

The  adventures  of  the  crew  in  their  retreat  from 
Boothia  Land  by  boat  and  sledge  are  recorded  in  this 
sketch. 

Captain  Ross  failing  to  free  his  ship  from  the  ice  the 
second  summer,  it  was  clear  to  him  that  the  Victory 
must  be  abandoned  the  coming  spring.  It  was  true 
salmon  were  so  abundant  in  the  lakes  of  Boothia  that 
five  thousand  were  caught  in  one  fishing  trip,  which 
netted  six  tons  of  dressed  fish,  but  bread  and  salt  meat, 
the  usual  and  favorite  food  of  the  crew,  were  so  short 
that  it  had  become  necessary  to  reduce  the  daily  issues. 
Fuel  was  so  reduced  that  none  remained  save  for  cook- 
ing, and  the  deck  had  to  be  strewn  with  a  thick  coating 


* 


While  the  north  magnetic  pole  constantly  changes  its  position,  yet 
such  movements  are  very  slow,  and  while  at  present  its  exact  situation  is 
not  known,  its  locality  is  quite  near  this. 


The  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the  Victory      41 


of  gravel,  for  warmth,  before  the  usual  covering  of  snow 
was  spread  over  the  ship.  Creatures  of  habit,  the  sea- 
men now  showed  signs  of  depression  bordering  on  dis- 
content if  not  of  despair. 

There  were  two  routes  of  retreat  open  to  Ross,  one 
being    toward    the   south,  attractive  as  being  warmer 


Boothia  Peninsula  and  North  Somerset. 

and  possibly  more  ice-free.  He  chose,  however,  the 
way  to  the  north,  which,  desolate  as  it  might  be,  was 
known  to  him  both  as  to  its  food  supplies  and  also  as 
to  the  chances  of  meeting  a  ship.  Every  year  the  dar- 
ing Scotch  whalers  were  fishing  in  Lancaster  Sound, 
and  at  Fury  Beach,  on  the  line  by  which  he  would 
travel,  were  large  quantities  of  food,  boats,  and  other 


42  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


needful  articles — landed  from  the  wreck  of  Parry's 
ship  Fury  in  1825. 

Ross  did  not  plan  his  abandonment  of  the  Victory 
any  too  early,  for  in  January  Seaman  Dixon  died  and 
his  mate  Buck  lost  his  eyesight  from  epilepsy.  Signs 
of  the  dreaded  arctic  horror,  scurvy,  were  not  lacking, 
as  the  foolish  seamen  were  averse  to  the  antiscorbutic 
lime  juice  and  refused  to  take  the  fresh  salmon-oil  or- 
dered by  the  doctor.  Ross  was  also  affected,  his  old 
wounds  breaking  out  afresh,  reminders  of  the  day 
when  as  a  lieutenant  he  had  aided  in  cutting  out  a 
Spanish  ship  under  the  batteries  of  Bilbao. 

Knov/ing  that  the  Victory  would  be  plundered  by  the 
natives  after  its  abandonment,  Ross  provided  for  a 
possible  contingency  of  falling  back  on  her  for  another 
winter,  and  so  constructed  a  cave  inshore  in  which 
were  cached  scientific  instruments,  ship's  logs,  accounts, 
ammunition,  etc.  Sledge-building  began  in  January, 
and  the  dismantling  of  the  ship  proceeded  as  fast  as 
the  weakness  of  the  crew  permitted. 

It  was  impossible  to  reach  the  open  water  of  Prince 
Regent  Inlet  without  establishing  advance  depots  of 
provisions  and  of  boats,  as  the  conditions  at  Fury 
Beach  were  unknown.  Floe-travel  was  so  bad,  and  the 
loads  hauled  by  the  enfeebled  men  so  small,  that  it 
took  the  entire  month  of  April  to  move  a  distance  of 
thirty  miles  two  boats  and  food  for  five  weeks,  while 
open  v/ater  was  not  to  be  expected  within  three  hundred 
miles. 

On  May  29,   1832,  the  British  colors  were  hoisted. 


The  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the  Victory      43 


nailed  to  the  mast,  duly  saluted,  and  the  Victory  aban- 
doned. With  the  true  mihtary  spirit  Ross  was  the  last 
to  quit  his  ship,  his  first  experience  in  forty-two  years' 
service  in  thirty-six  ships. 

The  prospects  were  dismal  enough,  with  heavily 
laden  sledges  moving  less  than  a  mile  an  hour,  while 
the  party  were  encumbered  by  helpless  men :  these  were 
moved  with  comfort  b}'  rigging  up  overhead  canvas 
canopies  for  the  sledge  on  which  a  man  could  be  car- 
ried in  his  sleeping-bag. 

The  midsummer  month  of  June  opened  with  the  sea 
ice  stretching  like  solid  marble  as  far  north  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  The  change  from  forecastle  to  tent,  from 
warm  hammocks  and  hot  meals  to  frozen  blankets  and 
lukewarm  food,  told  severely  on  the  worn-out  sledgemen 
whose  thirst  even  could  be  but  rarely  quenched  until 
later  the  snow  of  the  land  began  to  melt.  Now  and 
then  a  lucky  hunter  killed  a  hare,  or  later  a  duck,  still 
in  its  snowy  winter  coat,  which  gave  an  ounce  or  two 
of  fresh  meat  to  flavor  the  canned-meat  stew. 

Six  days  out  the  seamen,  demoralized  at  their  slow 
progress,  sent  a  delegation  asking  the  captain  to  aban- 
don boats  and  food  so  that  travelling  light  they  might 
the  earlier  reach  the  Fury  Beach  depot.  Ross  with 
firmness  reprimanded  the  spokesman  and  ordered  the 
men  to  take  up  the  line  of  march.  He  knew  that  food 
could  not  be  thus  wasted  without  imperilling  the  fate 
of  the  party,  and  that  boats  were  absolutely  essential. 
While  striving  to  the  utmost  with  the  crew,  coming  a 
week  later  to  a  safe  place  he  cached  both  boats,  and 


44  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

taking  all  the  food  sent  his  nephew  ahead  to  learn 
whether  the  boats  at  Fury  Beach  were  serviceable. 
After  a  journey  in  which  young  Ross  displayed  his 
usual  heroic  energy  and  ability,  he  brought  the  glad 
news  that  although  a  violent  gale  had  carried  off  the 
three  boats  and  seriously  damaged  one,  yet  he  had 
secured  all  so  that  the  boats  of  the  Victory  could  be 
left  behind. 

July  I  brought  the  party  to  Fury  Beach,  where  de- 
spite orders  and  cautions  some  of  the  hungry  seamen 
gorged  themselves  sick.  But  the  ice  was  still  solid. 
Ross  therefore  built  a  house  of  canvas  stretched  over 
a  wooden  frame,  and  named  the  habitation  Somerset 
House,  as  it  was  on  North  Somerset  Land.  Work  was 
pushed  on  the  boats,  which  were  in  bad  shape,  and  as 
they  were  of  mahogany  they  were  sure  to  lack  the  fine 
flotation  qualities  of  those  left  behind.  Ross  fitted  his 
two  boats  with  mutton  sails,  while  the  nephew  put  in 
sprit-sails. 

Fortunately  the  food  at  Fury  Beach  had  escaped  the 
ravages  of  arctic  animals,  though  the  clever  sharp- 
nosed  foxes  had  scented  the  tallow  candles,  gnawed 
holes  through  the  boxes,  and  made  way  with  them  all. 

Everything  was  arranged  for  a  long  sea  trip,  each 
boat  being  loaded  with  food  for  sixty  days  and  had  as- 
signed thereto  an  officer  and  seven  seamen.  The  ice 
opening  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  they  started  north 
on  August  I,  moving  by  oar-power,  as  the  water  lanes 
were  too  narrow  and  irregular  for  the  use  of  sails.  On 
the  water  once  more,  the  crew  thought  their  retreat 


The  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the  Victory      45 

secure.  They  had  hardly  gone  eight  miles  before  they 
were  driven  to  shore  by  the  moving  pack,  and  were 
barely  able  to  draw  up  their  boats  when  the  floes  drove 
violently  against  the  rocks,  throwing  up  great  pressure- 
ridges  of  heavy  ice  and  nearly  destroying  the  boats. 
The  men  had  scarcely  begun  to  congratulate  themselves 
on  their  escape  from  death  in  the  pack  when  they  real- 
ized that  they  were  under  conditions  of  great  peril. 
They  found  themselves  on  a  rocky  beach,  only  a  few 
yards  in  width,  which  was  a  talus  of  loose,  rolling  rocks 
at  the  base  of  perpendicular  cliffs  nearly  five  hundred 
feet  high.  As  the  ice  which  cemented  the  disintegrat- 
ing upper  cliffs  melted,  the  least  wind  loosened  stones, 
which  fell  in  numbers  around  them,  one  heavy  rock 
striking  a  boat's  mast.  Unable  to  escape  by  land, 
hemmed  in  by  the  closely  crowding  pack,  they  passed 
nine  days  unable  to  protect  themselves,  and  fearing 
death  at  any  moment  from  some  of  the  falling  stones, 
which  at  times  came  in  showers.  They  were  tantalized 
by  the  presence  of  numerous  foxes  and  flocks  of  game 
birds,  but  they  did  not  dare  to  fire  at  them,  fearing  that 
the  concussion  from  the  firing  would  increase  the  num- 
ber of  the  falling  rocks. 

With  barely  room  for  their  tents  under  the  disin- 
tegrating precipice,  with  decreasing  food,  in  freezing 
weather,  without  fuel,  and  with  the  short  summer  go- 
ing day  by  da}^  they  suffered  agonies  of  mind  and  of 
body.  Fortunately  the  ice  opened  a  trifle  to  the  south- 
ward so  that  they  were  able  to  launch  the  lightest 
boat,  which  went  back  to  Fury  Beach  and  obtained 


46  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

food  for  three  weeks.  Driven  ashore  by  the  ice-pack  on 
its  return,  the  crew  from  Fury  Beach  managed  with 
difficulty  to  rejoin  the  main  party  on  foot.  In  this  as 
in  other  instances  they  had  very  great  difficulty  in 
hauling  up  their  heavy  mahogany  boats,  it  being  possi- 
ble to  handle  the  heaviest  only  by  tackle. 

Through  the  opening  ice  they  made  very  slow  prog- 
ress, being  often  driven  to  shore.  Most  rarely  did 
anything  laughable  occur,  but  one  experience  gave  rise 
to  much  fun.  One  morning  the  cook  was  up  early  to 
celebrate  a  departure  from  their  usually  simple  meal. 
The  day  before  the  hunters  had  killed  three  hares,  and 
the  cook  now  intended  to  make  a  toothsome  sea-pie,  for 
which  he  was  celebrated  among  the  men.  Half-awake, 
he  groped  around  for  his  foot-gear,  but  could  find  only 
one  boot.  Rubbing  his  eyes  and  looking  around  him, 
he  was  astonished  to  see  a  white  fox  near  the  door  of  the 
tent  calmly  gnawing  at  the  missing  boot.  Seizing  the 
nearest  loose  article,  he  threw  it  at  the  animal,  expect- 
ing that  he  would  drop  the  boot.  The  half-famished 
fox  had  no  mind  to  lose  his  breakfast,  and  holding  fast 
to  the  boot  fled  up  the  hill,  to  the  disgust  of  the  cook 
and  to  the  amusement  of  his  comrades.  To  add  to  the 
fun  they  named  the  place  Boot  Bight,  though  some  said 
that  there  was  more  than  one  bite  in  the  lost  boot. 

A  strong  gale  opening  the  sea,  they  improved  the  oc- 
casion by  crossing  Batty  Bay,  when  the  heavy  mahog- 
any boat  of  Ross  was  nearly  swamped.  She  took  in  so 
much  water  that  the  crew  were  wet  up  to  their  knees,  and 
it  required  lively  work  and  good  seamanship  to  save  her. 


ihe  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the  Victory      47 

After  more  than  seven  weeks  of  such  terrible  strug- 
gles with  the  ice,  the  three  boats  reached  the  junction 
of  Prince  Regent  Inlet  and  Lancaster  Sound,  only  to 
find  the  sea  covered  with  continuous,  impenetrable  ice- 
floes. Ross  cached  his  instruments,  records,  specimens, 
etc.,  for  the  following  year,  so  as  to  return  light  to 
Somerset  House. 

There  were  objections  to  returning  south  on  the  part 
of  some  of  the  crew,  who  suggested  that  under  the  com- 
mand of  young  Ross  (and  apparently  with  his  approval) 
the  stronger  members  should  "take  a  certain  amount  of 
provisions  from  each  boat  and  attempt  to  obtain  a 
passage  over  the  ice."  This  meant  not  only  the  divi- 
sion of  the  party,  but  almost  certainly  would  have  re- 
sulted in  the  death  of  all.  For  the  crossing  party,  of 
the  strongest  men,  would  have  reached  a  barren  land, 
while  the  sick  and  helpless  would  have  perished  in  try- 
ing to  return  alone  to  Somerset  House  (Fury  Beach). 
Ross  wisely  held  fast  to  this  opinion,  and  the  return  trip 
began. 

The  delay  caused  by  differences  of  opinion  nearly 
proved  fatal,  owing  to  the  rapidly  forming  new  ice 
through  which  the  boats  were  only  moved  by  rolling 
them.  The  illy  clad  men  now  suffered  terribly  from 
the  cold,  as  the  temperature  was  often  at  zero  or  below. 
It  was  so  horrible  to  sleep  in  the  open,  crowded  boats 
that  they  sought  the  shore  whenever  possible.  Gen- 
erally there  was  neither  time  nor  was  there  fit  snow  to 
put  up  a  snow-hut,  and  then  the  men  followed  another 
plan   to   lessen   their   terrible  sufferings   and   sleepless 


48  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


nights.  Each  of  the  seamen  had  a  single  blanket, 
which  had  been  turned  into  a  sack-shaped  sleeping- 
bag  so  that  their  feet  should  not  become  exposed  and 
freeze  while  they  were  asleep.  Each  of  the  three  messes 
dug  a  trench,  in  a  convenient  snow-drift,  long  enough 
and  wide  enough  to  hold  the  seven  sleeping-bags  when 
arranged  close  together.  Thrown  over  and  covering 
the  trench  was  a  canvas  sail  or  tent,  and  the  canvas  was 
then  overlaid  with  thick  layers  of  snow,  which  thus 
prevented  any  of  the  heat  of  the  men  from  escaping. 
Very  carefully  brushing  off  any  particles  of  snow  on 
their  outer  garments,  the  men  carefully  wormed  them- 
selves into  their  sleeping-bags,  and  by  huddling  to- 
gether were  generally  able  to  gain  such  collective  heat 
as  made  it  possible  for  them  to  drop  off  to  sleep. 

Whenever  practicable  they  supplemented  their  now 
reduced  rations  by  the  hunt,  but  got  little  except 
foxes  and  hares.  The  audacity  of  the  white  arctic 
foxes  was  always  striking  and  at  times  amusing.  Once 
a  thievish  fox  crept  slyly  into  a  tent  where  the  men  were 
quietly  awaiting  the  return  cf  a  comrade  for  whose  con- 
venience a  candle  was  kept  Hghted.  The  candle  smelt 
and  looked  good  to  Master  Fox,  who  evidently  had 
never  seen  such  a  thing  as  fire  before.  Running  up  to 
the  candle,  he  boldly  snapped  at  it,  when  his  whiskers 
were  so  sorely  singed  that  he  departed  in  hot  haste.  All 
laughed  and  thought  that  was  the  end  of  the  affair. 
But  a  few  minutes  later,  discomfited  but  not  discour- 
aged. Master  Fox,  with  his  scorched  head-fur,  appeared 
again  in  the  tent.     He  had  learned  his  lesson,  for  avoid- 


The  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the   Victory      49 

ing  the  candle  he  snapped  up  the  sou'wester  of  the 
engineer  and  made  off  with  it  though  a  watching  sailor 
threw  a  candlestick  at  him. 

The  weather  soon  became  most  bitterly  cold,  and  as 
they  sailed  or  rowed  toward  Fury  Beach  the  sea-water 
often  froze  as  it  fell  in  driblets  on  their  garments. 
Food  was  reduced  a  third,  as  Ross  knew  that  a  return 
in  boats  was  now  doubtful.  A  gale  drove  them  to  a 
wretched  spot,  a  rocky  beach  six  feet  wide  beneath 
frowning  chffs  many  hundreds  of  feet  high.  Their 
food  was  now  cut  off  one-half,  and  the  daily  hunt 
brought  little — a  few  foxes  and  sea-gulls,  with  an  oc- 
casional duck  from  the  southward-flying  flocks. 

Near  Batty  Bay  they  were  caught  in  the  ice-pack  two 
miles  from  land  and  their  fate  was  for  a  time  doubtful. 
Only  by  almost  superhuman  efforts  did  they  effect  their 
release.  The  cargo  was  carried  ashore  by  hand,  and  by 
using  the  masts  as  rollers  under  the  hulls  of  the  boats — 
though  often  discouraged  by  their  breaking  through 
the  new,  thin  ice — they  managed  at  last  to  get  the  boats 
safe  on  shore.  It  might  be  thought  that  three  years  of 
arctic  service  would  have  taught  the  men  prudence,  but 
here  one  of  the  sailors  in  zero  weather  rolled  a  bread- 
cask  along  the  shore  with  bare  hands,  which  caused  him 
to  lose  the  tips  of  his  fingers  and  obliged  other  men  to 
do  his  duty. 

It  was  now  necessar}^  to  make  the  rest  of  the  journey 
to  Fury  Beach  overland.  Fortunately  there  were  some 
empty  bread-casks  out  of  which  the  carpenter  made 
shift  to  build  three  sledges.     The  party  left  everything 


50  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

behind  for  the  journey  of  the  next  spring,  taking  only 
tentage,  food,  needful  tools,  and  instruments.  The  way 
lay  along  the  base  of  precipitous  cliffs,  with  deep  drifts 
of  loose  snow  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  rough 
ridges  of  heavy  ice  pushed  up  from  the  sea.  Hard  as 
were  the  conditions  of  travel  for  the  worn-out  seamen, 
they  were  much  worse  for  the  crippled  mate,  Taylor, 
who  could  not  walk  with  his  crutches,  and  who  suffered 
agony  by  frequent  falls  from  the  overturning  sled  on 
which  he  had  to  be  hauled.  The  first  day  broke  one 
sledge,  and  with  zero  temperatures  the  spirits  of  the 
men  were  most  gloomy.  Being  obliged  to  make  double 
trips  to  carry  their  baggage,  some  of  the  sailors  com- 
plained when  told  off  to  return  for  the  crippled  mate. 
Ross  shamed  them  into  quiet  by  telling  them  how 
much  better  was  their  case  to  be  able  to  haul  a  ship- 
mate than  was  that  of  the  wretched  mate  depend- 
ent on  others  for  life  and  comfort. 

How  closely  the  party  was  pressed  by  fate  is  shown 
by  their  eating  the  last  morsel  of  their  food  the  day 
they  reached  Somerset  House.  As  they  approached  a 
white  fox  fled  from  the  house,  but  though  dirty,  cold, 
hungry,  and  exhausted,  they  were  happy  to  reach  this 
desolate  spot  which  they  now  called  home. 

Apart  from  the  death  of  the  carpenter,  the  winter 
passed  without  any  distressing  events,  though  some  of 
the  men  failed  somewhat  in  strength.  It  was  a  matter 
of  rejoicing  that  in  the  early  spring  they  obtained  fresh 
meat  by  killing  two  bears.  The  carcass  of  one  of  them 
was  set  up  as  a  deco}^,  and  one  of  the  seamen  stuck  a 


The  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the  Victory      51 

piece  of  iron  hoop  into  it  as  a  tail.  Soon  frozen  solid, 
it  attracted  another  bear,  who  rushed  at  it  and  after  cap- 
sizing it  was  killed  by  a  volley  from  sailors  lying  in  wait. 

Careful  plans  were  made  for  the  summer  campaign. 
Stoves  were  reduced  to  one-fourth  of  their  original 
weight  and  sledges  were  shod  from  ice-saws.  The 
three  sledges  were  fitted  with  four  uprights,  with  a  can- 
vas mat  hauled  out  to  each  corner.  On  this  upper  mat 
the  sick  and  helpless  men  were  laid  in  their  sleeping- 
bags,  and  thus  could  make  with  comparative  comfort 
any  sledge  journeys  that  might  be  necessary.  It  was 
deemed  advisable  to  provide  for  travel  either  by  land  or 
by  sea. 

The  ice  of  Prince  Regent  Inlet  held  fast  far  into  the 
summer,  and  at  times  there  stole  into  the  minds  of  even 
the  most  hopeful  and  courageous  a  fear  lest  it  should 
not  break  up  at  all.  Birds  and  game  were  fairly  plenti- 
ful, far  more  so  than  in  the  preceding  year,  but  all  hope, 
care,  and  interest  centred  in  the  coming  boat  journey. 
No  one  could  look  forward  to  the  possibility  of  passing 
a  fifth  year  in  the  arctic  regions  without  most  dismal 
forebodings  as  to  the  sufferings  and  fatalities  that  must 
result  therefrom.  The  highest  cliffs  that  commanded 
a  view  of  the  inlet  to  the  north  were  occupied  by  eager 
watchers  of  the  ice  horizon.  Day  after  day  and  week 
after  week  passed  without  the  faintest  signs  of  water 
spots,  which  mark  the  disintegrating  pack  and  give 
hopes  of  its  coming  disruption.  Would  the  pack  ever 
break?  Could  that  vast,  unbroken  extent  of  ice  ever 
waste  away  so  that  boats  could   pass?     A  thousand 


52  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

times  this  or  similar  questions  were  asked,  and  no  an- 
swer came. 

Midsummer  was  far  past  when,  by  one  of  those 
sudden  and  almost  instantaneous  changes  of  which  the 
polar  pack  is  possible,  a  favorable  wind  and  fortunate 
current  dissipated  the  ice-covering  of  the  inlet,  and 
alongshore,  stretching  far  to  the  north,  an  ice-free 
channel  appeared. 

With  the  utmost  haste  the  boats  were  loaded,  the 
selected  stores  having  long  been  ready,  and  with  hearts 
full  of  hope  they  started  toward  the  north.  Ross  and 
his  officers  fully  realized  that  this  was  their  sole  and 
final  chance  of  life,  and  that  failure  to  reach  the 
whalers  of  Barrow  Strait  or  Baffin  Bay  meant  ultimate 
death  by  starvation. 

Amid  the  alternations  during  their  voyage,  of  open 
water,  of  the  dangerous  navigation  of  various  ice 
streams,  and  of  the  tantahzing  land  delays,  when  the 
violent  insetting  pack  drove  them  to  the  cliff-bounded 
beaches  of  North  Somerset,  even  the  feeblest  worked 
with  desperate  energy,  for  all  knew  that  their  lives 
depended  on  concerted,  persistent,  intelligent  action. 

The  ice  conditions  improved  as  they  worked  to  the 
north  end  of  Prince  Regent  Inlet,  and  finally  the  pack 
was  so  disrupted  and  wasted  that  they  crossed  to  Baffin 
Land  without  difficulty. 

Skirting  the  northern  coast  of  that  desolate  land, 
they  sailed  to  the  eastward,  hoping  almost  against  hope 
to  see  a  friendly  sail,  for  the  season  was  passing  and  the 
nights  had  begun  to  lengthen  rapidly. 


The  Retreat  of  Ross  from  the  Victory      53 

On  the  morning  of  August  25,  1833,  their  feeh'ngs 
were  raised  to  an  intense  pitch  of  excitement  by  the 
sight  of  a  sail,  which  failed  to  detect  in  turn  the  forlorn 
castaways.  Though  some  fell  into  deep  despair  as 
the  ship  stood  away,  the  more  rational  men  felt  as- 
sured of  their  final  safety,  since  whalers  were  actually 
in  the  strait.  A  few  hours  later  they  were  fortunate 
enough  to  fall  in  with  and  to  be  picked  up  by  the  whaler 
Isabella^  a  remarkable  incident  from  the  fact  that  she 
was  the  arctic  ship  which  Sir  John  Ross  had  commanded 
in  his  expedition  of  181 8  to  Baffin  Bay. 

When  Ross  answered  the  hail  from  the  astonished 
captain  of  the  Isabella^  it  was  a  unique  and  startling 
greeting  that  he  received.  For  when  answering  that 
he  was  Captain  John  Ross,  the  captain  of  the  whaler 
blurted  out,  "Why,  Captain  Ross  has  been  dead  two 
years,"  which  was  indeed  the  general  belief. 

After  investigating  the  affairs  of  the  expedition,  a 
committee  of  Parliament  reported  "that  a  great  public 
service  had  been  performed  [with]  deeds  of  daring  en- 
terprise and  patient  endurance  of  hardships."  They 
added  that  Captain  John  Ross  "had  the  merit  of  main- 
taining both  health  and  discipline  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree .  .  .  under  circumstances  the  most  trying  to  which 
British  seamen  were  perhaps  ever  subjected." 

Through  daily  duty  well  done,  by  fidelity  to  work  in 
hand,  and  by  unfailing  courage  in  dire  extremities,  Sir 
John  Ross  and  his  expeditionary  force  won  their  coun- 
try's praise  for  heroic  conduct. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST 

PASSAGE 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST 

PASSAGE 

"  He  came  not.     Conjecture's  cheek  grew  pale. 
Year  after  year,  in  no  propitious  gale 
His  banner  held  its  homeward  way, 
And  Science  saddened  at  her  martyr's  stay." 

— Anon. 

FEW  persons  realize  the  accompaniments  of  the 
prolonged  search  by  England  for  the  northwest 
passage,  whether  in  its  wealth  of  venturesome 
daring,  in  its  development  of  the  greatest  maritime 
nation  of  the  world,  or  in  its  material  contributions  to 
the  wealth  of  the  nations.  Through  three  and  a  half 
centuries  the  British  Government  never  lost  sight  of  it, 
from  the  voyage  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  in  1498,  to  the 
completion  of  the  discovery  by  Franklin  in  1846-7.  It 
became  a  part  of  the  maritime  life  of  England  when  Sir 
Martin  Frobisher  brought  to  bear  on  the  search  "all 
the  most  eminent  interests  of  England — political  and 
aristocratic,  scientific  and  commercial. "  To  the  search 
are  due  the  fur-trade  of  Hudson  Bay,  the  discovery  of 
continental  America,  the  cod-fishery  of  Newfoundland, 
and  the  whale-fishery  of  Baffin  Bay.  For  the  discovery 
of  the  northwest  passage  various  parliaments  ofi^ered  a 
reward  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

An  enterprise  that  so  vitally  aff^ected   the  maritime 
policy  of  England,  and  in  which  the  historic  explorer, 

57 


58 


True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


Henry  Hudson,  and  the  great  navigator,  James  Cook, 
met  their  deaths,  involved  many  heroic  adventures, 
among  which  none  has  engaged  more  attention  than 


Franklin's  route  on  the  northwest  passage. 

the  fateful  voj'age  of  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  men,  by 
which  the  problem  was  solved. 

Among  the  many  notable  and  interesting  paintings 
in  the  Tate  Gallery,  one  of  the  famous  collections  of 
pictures  in  London,  is  one  by  Sir  John  Millais,  entitled 
"The  Northwest  Passage."  A  young  girl  is  reading  tales 
of  arctic  travel  and  of  bold  adventure  to  her  listening 
father,  whose  tightly  closed  right  hand  she  affection- 


The  Northwest  Passage  59 


ately  fondles  as  the  thrilling  story  reaches  its  cli- 
max. On  the  table  is  an  outspread  map  of  North  Amer- 
ica, consulted  often  by  the  attentive  readers,  whereon 
blank  spaces  denote  regions  as  yet  unknown  to  man. 
The  tale  done,  the  old,  grizzled,  weather-beaten  sailor, 
whose  clinched  hands  and  fixed  eyes  betray  his  strong 
emotion,  cries  out:  "It  can  be  done,  and  England 
should  do  it!"  Few  pictures,  in  title  and  in  subject, 
have  more  forcibly  portrayed  that  pride  of  achieve- 
ment which  is  the  glory  of  Britain. 

The  tale  of  the  northwest  passage  in  its  last  phase  of 
discovery  cannot  anywhere  be  found  in  a  distinct  and 
connected  form.  As  a  record  of  man's  heroic  endeavor 
and  of  successful  accomplishment  at  the  cost  of  life 
itself,  it  should  be  retold  from  time  to  time.  For  it 
vividly  illustrates  an  eagerness  for  adventurous  daring 
for  honor's  sake  that  seems  to  be  growing  rarer  and 
rarer  under  the  influences  of  a  luxurious  and  material- 
istic centur}'. 

When  in  1845  the  British  Government  decided  to 
send  out  an  expedition  for  the  northwest  passage,  all 
thoughts  turned  to  Franklin.  Notable  among  the  naval 
giants  of  his  day  through  deeds  done  at  sea  and  on  land, 
in  battle  and  on  civic  duty,  he  was  an  honored  type  of 
the  brave  and  able  captains  of  the  royal  navy.  Fol- 
lowing the  glorious  day  of  Trafalgar  came  six  years  of 
arctic  service — whose  arduous  demands  appear  in  the 
sketch,  "Crossing  the  Barren  Grounds" — followed  by 
seven  years  of  duty  as  governor  of  Tasmania.  But 
these  exacting  duties  had  not  tamed  the  adventurous 


6o  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

spirit  of  this  heroic  EngHshman.  Deeming  it  a  high 
honor,  he  would  not  ask  for  the  command  of  this  squad- 
ron, for  the  expedition  was  a  notable  public  enterprise 
whereon  England  should  send  its  ablest  commander. 

When  tendered  the  command  the  public  awaited 
eagerly  for  his  reply.  He  was  in  his  sixtieth  year,  and 
through  forty-one  degrees  of  longitude — from  107°  W. 
to  148°  W. — he  had  traced  the  coast  of  North  America, 
thus  outlining  far  the  greater  extent  of  the  passage. 
But  his  arctic  work  had  been  done  under  such  conditions 
of  hardship  and  at  such  eminent  peril  of  Hfe  as  would 
have  deterred  most  men  from  ever  again  accepting  such 
hazardous  duty  save  under  imperative  orders. 

Franklin's  manly  character  stood  forth  in  his  answer: 
"No  service  is  dearer  to  my  heart  than  the  completion 
of  the  survey  of  the  northern  coast  of  North  America 
and  the  accomplishment  of  the  northwest  passage. " 

Going  with  him  on  this  dangerous  duty  were  other 
heroic  souls,  officers  and  men,  old  in  polar  service,  de- 
fiantly familiar  with  its  perils  and  scornful  of  its  hard- 
ships. Among  these  were  Crozier  and  Gore,  who,  the 
first  in  five  and  the  last  in  two  voyages,  had  sailed  into 
both  the  ice-packs  of  northern  seas  and  among  the 
wondrous  ice  islands  of  the  antarctic  world. 

Sailing  May  26,  1845,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  souls  in  the  Erebus  and  the  Terror,  Franklin's  ships 
were  last  seen  by  Captain  Dennett,  of  the  whaler  Prmce 
of  Wales,  on  July  26,  1845.  Then  moored  to  an  iceberg, 
they  awaited  an  opening  in  the  middle  pack  through 
which  to  cross  Baffin  Bay  and  enter  Lancaster  Sound. 


The  Northwest  Passage  6i 


Franklin's  orders  directed  that  from  Cape  Walker, 
Barrow  Strait,  he  should  "endeavor  to  penetrate  to  the 
southward  and  to  the  westward,  in  a  course  as  direct 
to  Bering  Strait  as  the  position  and  extent  of  the  ice, 
or  the  existence  of  the  land  at  present  unknown,  may 
admit." 

His  progress  to  the  west  being  barred  by  heav}'-  ice, 
he  sailed  up  the  open  channel  to  the  west  of  Cornwallis 
Land,  reaching  ']']'^  N.,  the  nearest  approach  to  the 
north  pole  in  the  western  hemisphere  that  had  been 
reached  in  three  centuries,  and  exceeded  alone  by 
Baffin  in  1616,  who  sailed  forty-five  miles  nearer. 
Returning  to  the  southward,  the  squadron  went  into 
winter  quarters  at  Beechey  Island,  74°  42'  N.,  91° 
32'  W. 

Knowing  the  virtue  of  labor,  the  captain  set  up  an 
observatory  on  shore,  built  a  workshop  for  sledge- 
making  and  for  repairs,  and  surely  must  have  tested  the 
strength  and  spirit  of  his  crews  by  journeys  of  explora- 
tion to  the  north  and  to  the  east.  It  is  more  than  prob- 
able that  the  energy  and  experiences  of  this  master  of 
arctic  exploration  sent  the  flag  of  England  far  to  the 
north  of  Wellington  Channel. 

Affairs  looked  dark  the  next  spring,  for  three  of  the 
men  had  died,  while  the  main  floe  of  the  straits  was  hold- 
ing fast  later  than  usual.  As  summer  came  on  care 
was  given  to  the  making  of  a  little  garden,  while  the 
seaman's  sense  of  order  was  seen  in  the  decorative 
garden  border  made  of  scores  of  empty  meat-cans  in 
lieu  of  more  fitting  material. 


62  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

They  had  built  a  canvas-covered  stone  hut,  made 
wind-proof  by  having  its  cracks  calked,  sailor-fashion, 
by  bunches  of  long,  reddish  mosses.  This  was  the 
sleeping  or  rest  room  of  the  magnetic  and  other  scien- 
tific observers,  who  cooked  their  simple  meals  in  a  stone 
fireplace  built  to  the  leeward  of  the  main  hut.  Here 
with  hunter's  skill  were  roasted  and  served  the  sweet- 
meated  arctic  grouse  savored  with  wild  sorrel  and 
scurvy  grass  from  the  near-b}'  ravines.* 

Looking  with  eager  eyes  for  all  things  new,  as  must 
those  who  sailed  with  Franklin,  they  saw  strange  sights 
— unknown  forms  of  nature  to  non-arctic  sailors.  In 
the  days  of  melting  snow,  during  the  quick-coming, 
swift-flying  polar  spring,  among  all  things  white  and 
colorless,  they  must  have  been  struck  by  the  high  colors 
of  the  man}'  little  fresh-water  pools  whose  vivid  greens 
and  brilliant  reds  catch  and  please  an  eye  wearied  and 
dulled  by  the  sombre  arctic  landscape.  Around  the 
edge  of  these  tiny  ponds  form  thick  coatings  of  bright- 
green,  thread-like  algae  (fresh-water  plants  somewhat 
Hke  kelp  or  sea-weed).  The  stones  at  the  bottom  of  the 
centre  of  the  pools  were  incrusted  by  the  red  snow  plant 
whose  rich  colors  gave  a  sense  of  life  to  the  near-by 
shallows. 

In  such  haste  Franklin  put  to  sea  that  the  customary 
rule  was  not  observed  of  building  a  cairn  in  a  promi- 

*  These  details  as  to  the  life  of  the  squadron  are  drawn  from  various 
accounts  of  the  hut,  fireplace,  pools,  vegetation,  bird-remains,  and  other 
domestic  refuse  discovered  by  the  officers  and  men  under  Ommaney  and 
Penny  in  August,  1850.  Three  graves  with  head-boards  were  found,  but 
no  trace  or  scrap  of  record  or  journal  of  any  kind.  They  were  the  first 
traces  discovered  of  Franklin's  movements. 


The  Northwest  Passage  63 


nent  place  and  of  placing  therein  a  record  of  operations 
to  date.  Doubtless  the  sea  opened  suddenly  by  one 
of  those  offshore  winds  which  bring  ice-free  water  as  by 
magic.  But  they  must  have  left  the  land  for  the  open 
sea  with  the  free  joy  of  the  sailor,  not  knowing  that  fate 
had  been  kinder  to  the  three  comrades  who  rested 
under  the  arctic  sky  in  the  quiet  island  graves  than  to 
those  who  with  brave  hearts  and  high  hopes  sailed  ever 
onward  and  onward. 

Soon  Franklin  sighted  Cape  Walker,  whence  he 
should  sail  to  the  west  and  south  as  conditions  of  the 
land  and  the  ice  might  permit.  From  the  record  re- 
covered from  the  cairn  at  Point  Victory,  he  seems  to 
have  been  forced  to  go  south  through  Peel  Sound  into 
Franklin  Strait,  where  we  know  that  both  the  flag-ship 
Erebus  and  the  Terror  were  beset  in  the  floe-ice  of  the 
open  sea  and  were  frozen  up  in  the  winter  pack  twelve 
miles  north-northwest  of  King  William  Land.  This 
besetment,  on  September  12,  1846,  must  have  been  a 
grievous  blow  to  Franklin,  who  was  now  practically  as- 
sured of  the  existence  of  the  northwest  passage  along  the 
continental  coast  of  North  America.  He  was  directly 
to  the  north  of  and  only  eighty-four  miles  distant 
from  Cape  Herschel,  King  William  Land,  which  in 
1839  had  been  discovered  and  visited  by  that  success- 
ful explorer,  Thomas  Simpson,  one  of  the  most  active 
of  the  many  energetic  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company. 

The  polar  winter,  tedious  and  dreary  at  any  time, 
must   have   been   of  fearful   and   almost   unendurable 


64  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

length  to  those  eager,  ambitious  men  who,  helpless 
and  idle  in  their  ice-held  ships,  knew  that  they  had  sub- 
stantially finished  the  search  which  for  two  hundred 
and  forty-nine  years  had  engaged  the  heart  and  hand  of 
the  best  of  the  marine  talent  of  England.  The  winter 
passed,  oh!  how  slowly,  but  it  ended,  and  with  the  wel- 
come sun  and  warmer  air  of  coming  spring  there  was  a 
cheerful  sense  of  thankfulness  that  death  had  passed 
by  and  left  their  circle  unbroken  and  that  "all  were 
well."* 

A  man  of  Franklin's  type  did  not  let  the  squadron  re- 
main idle,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  shores  of  Victoria 
and  Boothia  Peninsula  were  explored  and  the  magnetic 
pole  visited  and  definitely  relocated. 

The  only  sledge-party  of  which  there  exists  a  record 
is  that  which  left  the  ships  on  May  24,  1847,  consisting 
of  Lieutenant  Graham  Gore,  Mate  Des  Voeux,  and  six 
men.  Its  small  crew,  led  by  a  junior  officer,  indicates 
that  its  objects  were  subordinate  to  those  pursued  by 
other  parties.  Most  probably  it  was  a  hunting-party 
in  pursuit  of  the  game  of  King  William  Land,  which 
now  was  a  matter  of  grave  urgency  to  Franklin.  The 
excessive  number  of  empty  meat-cans  at  Beechey 
Island  is  beHeved  to  be  due  to  the  inferior  character  of 
the  meat  which  led  to  much  being  condemned.     The 

*  The  primary  importance  of  concerted  and  co-operative  action  in  explora- 
tions covering  such  a  broad  field  was  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  situation 
at  this  time.  While  Franklin  and  his  men  were  facing  disaster  and  death  in 
their  ice-bound  ships  to  the  west  of  Boothia  Felix  Land,  that  distinguished 
arctic  traveller,  John  Rae,  was  exploring  Boothia  Peninsula.  On  April 
18,  1847,  he  was  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  his  sorely 
distressed  countrymen. 


The  Northwest  Passage  65 

large  number  of  deaths  which  quite  immediately  fol- 
lowed Gore's  journey  may  well  have  been  associated 
with  the  coming  of  scurvy  from  malnutrition. 

At  all  events,  Gore  reached  Point  Victory,  King  Will- 
iam Land,  on  May  28,  and  there  built  a  cairn  and  de- 
posited the  one  of  the  two  only  records  of  Franklin's 
squadron  of  any  kind  that  have  been  found.*  It  set 
forth  Franklin's  discoveries  around  Cornwallis  Land, 
the  wintering  at  Beechey  Island,  and  the  besetment 
and  wintering  in  the  pack  of  the  Erebus  and  Terror  in 
70°  05'  N.,  98°  23'  VV.  It  ended  with  the  encouraging 
statement  that  all  were  well  and  Sir  John  Franklin 
in  command. 

From  the  Crozier  record,  to  be  mentioned  later,  it  is 
known  that  evil  days  followed  immediately  the  favor- 
able conditions  set  forth  by  Gore.  Sir  John  Franklin 
was  spared  the  agony  of  watching  his  men  and  officers 
perish  one  by  one  of  exhaustion  and  starvation,  for 
the  record  tells  us  that  he  died  on  the  ice-beset  Erebus, 
June  II,  1847,  fourteen  days  after  the  erection  of  the 
Point  Victory  cairn.  Death  was  now  busy  with  the 
squadron,  and  within  the  next  eleven  months  seven 
officers,  including  Gore,  and  twelve  seamen  perished, 
probably  from  scurvy. 

Frankhn's  last  days  must  have  been  made  happy  by 
the  certainty  that  his  labors  had  not  been  in  vain,  since 
it  was  clearly  evident  that  he  had  practically  finished 
the  two  labors  dearest  to  his  heart — "the  completion 

*  The  full  text  of  this  record  will  be  found  in  the  sketch  entitled  "The 
Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin." 


66  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

of  the  survey  of  the  northern  coasts  of  North  America 
and  the  accomphshment  of  the  northwest  passage." 
The  drift  of  the  ships  to  the  southwest  with  the  main 
pack  carried  them  to  within  sixty-five  miles  of  Cape 
Herschel,  and  the  chart  taken  by  FrankHn  showed  a 
distance  of  only  fifty-five  miles  of  unknown  lands  to 
connect  the  discoveries  of  Ross  with  those  of  Dease 
and  Simpson.  Doubtless  the  evidence  of  the  drift  had 
been  supplemented  by  an  exact  survey  of  the  coast  by 
sledge.  It  is  incredible  to  assume  that  the  energetic 
Franklin  allowed  his  men  to  remain  inert  for  eight 
months  within  a  score  of  miles  of  unknown  lands. 

The  ice  holding  the  ships  fast  until  the  spring  of  1848, 
it  was  necessary  for  Captain  F.  R.  M.  Crozier,  now  in 
command,  to  abandon  them,  as  they  were  provisioned 
only  until  July.  It  was  evident  that  the  only  chance 
of  life  was  to  reach  the  Hudson  Bay  posts,  via  Back 
(Great  Fish)  River,  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  dis- 
tant. While  it  would  not  be  possible  to  haul  enough 
food  for  the  whole  party,  they  had  good  reasons  to  be- 
lieve that  they  could  live  in  part  on  the  country.  Simp- 
son had  reported  large  game  as  plentiful  along  the  south 
coast  of  the  island,  while  Back  spoke  of  thousands  of 
fish  at  the  river's  mouth. 

Arrangements  for  the  retreat  were  made  by  landing 
on  April  22,  1848,  on  King  William  Land  abundant 
supplies  of  bedding,  tentage,  provisions,  clothing,  am- 
munition, etc.,  and  a  large  camp  was  there  established. 
Sledges  were  strengthened  and  boats  fitted  thereon 
with  which  to  ascend  Back  River  and  if  necessary  to 


The  Northwest  Passage  67 

cross  Simpson  Strait.  Great  haste  was  made,  for  they 
were  ready  to  start  south  on  April  .25,  1848,  on  which 
date  the  record  of  Gore  vras  supplemented  b}^  another 
signed  by  Crozier  and  his  second  in  command,  Captain 
James  Fitzjames.  It  recorded  that  Gore  had  returned 
to  the  Erebus  from  his  sledge  journey  in  June,  1847, 
and  was  now  dead,  as  well  as  twenty  others.  It  added: 
"Sir  John  Franklin  died  on  the  nth  of  June,  1847. 
The  officers  and  crew,  consisting  of  105  souls,  .  .  . 
start  on  to-morrow,  26th,  for  Back's  Fish  River."  * 

Struggling  south  along  the  west  coast  of  King 
William  Land,  their  progress  was  slow  owing  to  illness, 
impaired  strength,  and  their  very  heavy,  unsuitable 
field  equipment.  Doubtless  some  one  fell  out  of  the 
sledge-traces  daily,  and  doubtless,  with  the  spirit  of 
heroic  Britons,  they  acclaimed  with  cheers  their  final 
success  when  they  had  dragged  their  heavy  boat  to  the 
north  side  of  Simpson  Strait  and  thus  actually  filled  in 
the  last  gap  in  the  northwest  passage. 

Their  provisions  ran  low  and  Lieutenant  John  Irving 
went  back  to  the  ship  for  other  supplies,  but  his  heroic 
zeal  was  superior  to  his  strength.  He  was  buried  on 
the  beach  in  full  uniform,  encased  in  a  canvas  shroud. f 
Of  his  party  one  at  least  reached  the  ship,  and  died  on 
board  of  the  Erebus  or  Terror,  which,  according  to  the 
reports  of  the  Eskimos,  sank  later  off  the  west  coast  of 
Adelaide  Peninsula.  Two  others  of  this  detachment 
evidently  endeavored   to   rejoin   the   main   part}-,   but 

*  For  full  text,  see  sketch  "The  Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin." 
t  Many  of  these  details  are  from  Gilder's  "Schwatka's  Search,"   a   re- 
markable expedition  by  these  young  Americans. 


68  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

died  in  an  abandoned  boat.  With  hope  and  patience 
they  waited  for  the  coming  of  game  that  would  save 
their  lives,  and  alongside  their  skeletons  thirty  years 
later  were  found,  standing,  their  muskets  loaded  and 
cocked  for  instant  use. 

Graves  and  skeletons,  boats  and  tents,  clothing  and 
camp-gear  silently  tell  the  tragic  tale  of  that  awful 
march,  which  has  been  traced  from  Point  Victory  to 
Montreal  Island  through  the  heroic  researches  of  Hob- 
son  and  McClintock,  of  Hall,  Schwatka,  and  Gilder. 

No  weaklings  were  they,  but  as  true  men  they  strove 
with  courage  and  energy  to  the  very  end.  At  least  one 
brave  man  died  on  the  march,  and  his  skeleton  lying 
on  its  face  verified  the  truth  of  the  terse  tribute  of  the 
Eskimo  woman  who  said  to  McCHntock:  "They  fell 
down  and  died  as  they  walked. " 

One  boat's  crew  perished  on  the  west  coast  of  Ade- 
laide Peninsula,  and  another  entered  the  mouth  of 
Back  River,  to  die  one  knows  not  how  or  where.  The 
skeleton  found  farthest  to  the  south  is,  perchance,  that 
of  the  last  survivor,  possibly  Surgeon  Stanley  of  the 
ErehuSy  as  "Mr  Stanley"  was  found  carved  on  a  stick 
found  on  Montreal  Island  in  1855. 

Of  the  last  survivor,  MacGahan,  in  Northern 
Lights,"  thus  surmises:  "One  sees  this  man  all  alone  in 
that  terrible  world,  gazing  around  him,  the  sole  living 
thing  in  that  dark,  frozen  universe.  There  is  no  hope 
for  him — none.  His  clothing  is  covered  with  frozen 
snow,  his  face  is  lean  and  haggard.  He  takes  out  his 
note-book  and  scrawls  a  few  lines,  as  he  has  done  every 


The  Northwest  Passage  69 

day.  A  drowsy  torpor  is  crawling  over  his  senses.  It 
will  be  sweet  to  sleep,  untroubled  by  dreams  of  void 
and  hunger.  Through  a  rift  in  the  clouds  glares  a  red 
flash  of  light,  like  an  angry,  blood-shot  eye.  He  turns 
and  meets  the  sinister  sunbeams  with  a  steady  eye, 
in  which  a  fiery  gleam  is  reflected,  as  though  bidding 
defiance.  As  they  glare  at  each  other,  this  man  and 
this  spectre,  the  curtain  is  drawn  and  all  is  dark." 

This  we  know,  that  with  loyalty  and  solidarity  these 
heroic  men  kept  fast  in  their  path  of  daily  duty,  fac- 
ing unflinchingly  cold  and  disease,  exhaustion  and  star- 
vation, and,  as  has  been  truly  said,  they  thus  "forged 
the  last  link  of  the  northwest  passage  with  their  lives." 

Rightly  are  the  loftiest  strains  of  the  poet's  songs 
invoked  by  steadfast  fortitude  and  by  the  spirit  of 
high  endeavor  rather  than  by  physical  acts  of  intrinsic 
value.  So  for  more  than  a  generation,  as  a  reminder 
of  heroic  worth,  the  students  of  Oxford  University  have 
year  by  year  turned  into  classic  latin  verse  the  memo- 
rial lines  of  the  poet-laureate.  Avoiding  mention  of 
the  northwest  passage,  Tennyson  raised  to  Franklin's 
"memory  a  monument  more  lasting  than  brass"  when 
he  penned  these  enduring  lines: 

*'  Not  here,  not  here.    The  White  North  has  thy  bones. 
But  thou,  heroic  sailor-soul, 
Art  sailing  on  a  happier  voyage, 
Now  toward  no  earthly  pole." 


THE  TIMELY  SLEDGE  JOURNEY  OF 
BEDFORD  PIM 


THE  TIMELY  SLEDGE  JOURNEY  OF 
BEDFORD  PIM 

"  Huddled  on  deck,  one-half  that  hardy  crew 
Lie  shrunk  and  withered  in  the  biting  sky, 
With  filmy  stare  and  lips  of  livid  hue, 

And  sapless  limbs  that  stiffen  as  they  lie; 
While  the  dire  pest-scourge  of  the  frozen  zone 
Rots  through  the  vein  and  gnaws  the  knotted  bone." 

— BULWER. 

FOR  more  than  three  centuries  England  made  fre- 
quent and  fruitless  attempts  by  sea  and  by  land 
to  discover  the  northwest  passage,  and  in  1818 
the  British  Parliament  offered  a  reward  of  twenty 
thousand  pounds  sterling  for  its  passage  by  explorers. 
Although  it  is  now  known  that  the  ill-fated  expedition 
under  Sir  John  Franklin  first  discovered  the  passage 
in  1846-7,  the  first  persons  to  make  the  journey  over  a 
new  and  more  northerlj^  route,  between  1849  and  1853, 
were  the  crew  of  her  ]VIajest3^'s  ship  Investigator,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Robert  Le  Mesurier  M'Clure,  R.N. 
It  is  a  curious  and  notable  fact  that  the  making  of 
the  passage  was,  as  one  may  saj'-,  a  matter  of  luck  or  of 
accident.  There  occurred  in  connection  with  this  jour- 
ney a  series  of  adventures  that  had  marvellous  results, 
not  only  in  the  saving  of  the  lives  of  the  crew  of  the 
Investigatory  but  also  in  raising  them  to  the  pinnacle  of 
fame  and  some  of  them  to  a  state  of  fortune.     M'Clure  's 

73 


74  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

ship  was  not  sent  forth  on  a  voyage  of  geographic  ex- 
ploration, but  on  a  mission  of  mercy  for  the  discovery 
and  reHef  of  the  Frankhn  arctic  squadron  which  had 
been  missing  since  1845,  The  Pacific  searching  squad- 
ron for  this  purpose,  commanded  by  Captain  Robert 
CoIHnson,  R.N.,  consisted  of  the  two  ships  Enterprise 
and  Investigatory  which  parted  company  in  Magellan 
Strait  under  orders  to  meet  at  Cape  Lisburne,  Bering 
Strait.  Captain  M'Clure  arrived  first,  and  after  a  very 
brief  delay  pushed  on  without  waiting  for  his  com- 
mander.    The  two  ships  never  met  again. 

Discovering  Banks  Land,  which  the  Eskimo  called 
''The  Land  of  the  White  Bear,"  M'Clure  followed 
Prince  of  Wales  Strait  to  its  northern  entrance,  where 
he  anchored  his  ship  to  a  floe  and  wintered  in  the  open 
pack  in  default  of  a  harbor.  Retracing  his  course  to 
the  south  the  following  summer,  he  circumnavigated 
Banks  Land  under  marvellous  ice  conditions  of  great 
danger,  escaping  as  by  miracle,  the  Investigator  be- 
ing so  near  the  sheer,  precipitous  crags  of  the  west 
coast  that  her  yards  could  touch  the  cliffs,  while  to  the 
seaward  she  was  cradled  in  crashing,  uprearing  floes 
which  close  to  her  bows  were  higher  than  the  foreyard. 
After  reaching  Banks  Strait  the  ship  grounded  one 
night  and  M'Clure  unfortunately  decided  to  winter 
there,  in  Mercy  Bay,  where  she  was  frozen  in  and 
abandoned  two  years  later. 

This  sketch  sets  forth  the  desperate  extremities  to 
which  M'CIure  and  his  crew  were  reduced,  and  describes 
the  timely  heroism  of  Lieutenant  Bedford  Pim,  R.N., 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pirn 


75 


in  making  the  sledge  journey  which  wrought  such 
marvellous  changes  in  the  fate  and  fortunes  of  the 
ice-imprisoned  men. 


On  September  23,  1851,  the  Investigator  was  frozen  in 
for  the  winter  in  the  ice  of  Mercy  Bay,  on  the  north 


Route  of  Pirn's  sledge  journey. 

coast  of  Banks  Land.  It  was  her  second  arctic  winter, 
and  the  hardships  inseparable  from  prolonged  polar 
service  were  soon  felt.  The  crew  were  at  once  placed 
on  two-thirds  allowance,  a  restricted  diet  that  kept 
them  always  hungry.     Soon  they  felt  the  shadowy  pres- 


76  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

ence  of  the  twin  arctic  evils,  famine  and  cold,  which 
came  with  the  forming  ice  and  the  advancing  winter. 
Through  the  open  hatchways  the  down-flowing  polar 
cold  turned  into  hoar-frost  the  moisture  of  the  relatively 
warm  air  of  the  cabins  and  of  the  bunks.  Water  froze 
in  the  glasses  and  frost  particles  welded  into  stiffness 
the  blankets,  bedding,  and  hammocks  of  the  seamen. 
Later  even  the  ink  froze  in  the  wells,  while  the  exposed 
head  of  every  metal  bolt  or  nail  was  covered  with  a 
glistening  coat  of  ice. 

Shoreward  the  outlook  was  as  desolate  as  conditions 
were  gloomy  on  shipboard.  For  at  first  the  ice-bound 
shores  of  Mercy  Bay  seemed  utterly  barren  of  life  in 
any  form.  But  one  day  came  with  joy  and  thankfulness 
the  report  that  a  sharp-ej^ed  boatswain  had  seen  several 
deer  skirting  the  snowy  hill-tops  to  the  southwestward. 

Now  all  was  activity  and  bustle,  since  this  phase  of 
useful  effort  had  come  to  increase  their  chance  of  life. 
Should  they  fail  to  release  the  ship  the  coming  summer, 
death  by  famine  sorely  threatened.  So  they  pursued 
the  chase  daily  with  the  utmost  energy  and  for  a  time 
with  marked  success.  Not  only  did  the  hunters  meet 
with  the  timid  deer  and  the  stolid  musk-ox — their  main 
reliance  for  meat — but  here  and  there  they  found  the 
snowy  polar  hare,  the  cunning  arctic  fox,  and  too  often, 
alas!  the  ravenous  wolf — the  dreaded  pirate  of  the  north. 

Regular  hunting-parties  were  told  off,  consisting  of 
the  best  shots  and  most  active  men.  To  save  long 
journeys  to  and  from  the  ice-beset  ship,  tents  were 
erected  at  convenient  places  and  stored  with  food  and 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pirn  77 

needful  conveniences.  Owing  to  the  usual  darkness, 
the  safe,  sane  rule  was  laid  down  that  no  hunter  should 
venture  alone  out  of  sight  of  either  tent  or  ship,  of  some 
member  of  a  field  party,  or  of  a  prominent  landmark. 

One  day  an  eager  seaman,  rushing  forward  to  get 
within  gun-shot  of  a  fleeting  musk-ox,  when  outdis- 
tanced by  the  animal  found  that  he  was  out  of  sight  of 
his  comrades  and  could  find  no  familiar  landmark  by 
which  to  guide  him  back  to  ship  or  tent.  Night  com- 
ing on,  he  was  in  sad  plight  in  the  darkness,  illy  clad 
for  long  exposure,  lost  and  alone.  Now  and  then  he 
fired  a  shot,  but  his  straining  ears  heard  no  responsive 
signal  from  his  shipmates.  After  tramping  to  and  fro 
for  several  hours,  he  was  so  worn  out  that  he  sat  down 
to  regain  his  strength,  but  he  soon  found  that  his  cloth- 
ing, wet  with  the  sweat  of  travel,  had  frozen  stiff.  To 
save  himself  from  death  by  freezing,  he  began  walking 
slowly  about,  keeping  to  a  restricted  circle  so  that  he 
should  not  wander  farther  from  his  anxious  comrades. 

While  tramping  to  and  fro  his  Hstening  ear,  eager 
for  any  sound  of  hfe,  detected  a  slight  rusthng  noise. 
Turning  quickly  he  saw  close  behind  him  the  form  of  a 
beast,  which  loomed  large  in  the  faint  light  of  the  rising 
moon.  He  had  neither  need  to  reason  nor  time  to  draw 
on  his  fancy  as  to  the  character  of  his  unwelcome  pur- 
suer, for  a  weird  resounding  howl  called  forth  at  once  an 
answering  chorus.  A  ravenous  wolf  had  marked  the 
hunter  as  his  prey  and  was  calling  his  gaunt  and  cruel 
comrades  to  the  bloody,  looked-for  feast. 

The  tales  of  the  forecastle  had  been  filled  with  grew- 


yS  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Fleroism 

some  details  of  the  ravages  of  wolves,  so  that  the  sea- 
man was  doubly  horrified  to  find  a  band  of  polar  pirates 
on  his  trail.  Though  knowing  his  frightful  plight,  he 
faced  expectant  death  with  courage  and  composure, 
putting  on  a  bold  front.  Shortly  the  wolves  followed 
their  customary  tactics,  so  successful  in  killing  reindeer 
or  musk-oxen.  Forming  a  circle  around  the  hunter, 
a  wolf  would  jump  quickly  toward  the  man's  back, 
the  animal  alertly  withdrawing  as  he  was  faced.  Again 
several  would  make  a  sudden  and  united  plunge  toward 
their  intended  victim — coming  from  separate  directions. 
Greatly  alarmed  at  this  concerted  attack,  the  seaman 
fired  at  the  nearest  wolf.  When  the  band,  alarmed  at 
the  bright  flame  and  loud  noise  from  the  musket — un- 
known to  the  arctic  wolf — fled  a  short  distance  the  sea- 
man at  once  ascended  a  small  knoll  where  he  would  be 
better  placed  for  defence.  From  this  point  of  vantage 
he  waged  successful  warfare  by  timely  shots  at  individ- 
ual attacking  wolves. 

But  the  time  came  when  he  had  fired  every  shot  in  his 
locker,  and  then  the  band  fell  back  a  little  way  and 
seemed  to  be  deliberating  as  to  what  should  be  done 
next.  Expecting  another  concerted  attack,  the  sea- 
man took  his  hunting-knife  in  one  hand  so  that  he  could 
stab  any  single  wolf,  and  grasped  his  musket  firmly  in 
the  free  hand  so  as  to  use  it  as  a  club. 

While  in  this  fearful  state  he  was  intensely  relieved 
by  seeing  the  whole  pack  rush  madly  away.  Though 
the  hunter  never  knew  for  a  certainty,  his  relief  was 
doubtless  due  either  to  the  coming  of  a   polar  bear, 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pirn  79 

feared  by  the  wolves,  or  to  the  scenting  of  an  attractive 
musk-ox.  With  anxious  heart  he  awaited  the  coming 
dayHght,  when  he  was  able  to  locate  himself  and  rejoin 
the  comrades  who  were  in  wild  search  for  him. 

This  was  not  an  isolated  case  of  the  boldness  and 
tenacity  of  the  wolves,  who  were  a  constant  menace 
not  only  to  the  hunters  personally — who  kept  well  to- 
gether after  this  experience — but  to  the  game  resources 
of  the  country.  On  another  occasion  three  men  started 
out  to  bring  to  the  ship  the  carcass  of  a  deer  which  had 
been  killed  the  day  before.  The  boatswain  walking 
in  advance  reached  the  deep  ravine  in  which  he  had 
cached  the  deer,  only  to  find  a  pack  of  five  large,  gaunt 
wolves  rapidly  devouring  the  carcass.  As  he  went  for- 
ward he  expected  that  the  animals  would  leave,  but 
none  stirred  at  his  approach,  their  famished  condition 
seeming  to  banish  fear  of  man.  Though  he  shouted  at 
the  top  of  his  voice  and  brandished  his  musket,  three 
of  the  wolves  fell  back  only  a  few  yards,  when  they 
squatted  on  their  haunches  and  kept  their  sharp  eyes 
fixed  on  him.  The  two  other  wolves  paid  no  attention 
to  the  hunter,  but  continued  to  devour  ravenously  the 
dismembered  animal.  The  boatswain  seized  a  hind  leg 
of  the  deer,  but  Master  Wolf,  not  at  all  disconcerted, 
held  fast  to  the  other  end  in  which  his  sharp  teeth  were 
deeply  fixed.  The  other  wolves  now  set  up  a  snarling 
chorus  of  encouragement  to  their  fellow  and  of  defiance 
to  the  intruder  at  their  feast.  However,  the  undis- 
mayed sailor,  holding  fast  with  one  hand  to  the  deer's 
hind  leg,  brandished  his  musket  vigorously  with  the 


8o  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

other  and  yelled  at  the  top  of  his  voice  to  his  comrades 
coming  over  the  hill.  He  did  not  wish  to  use  his  pre- 
cious ammunition  on  the  wolves,  as  the  supply  was  now 
so  small  as  to  forbid  its  waste.  The  daring  animal  at 
last  dropped  his  end  of  the  deer,  but  stood  fast  within 
a  yard  or  two,  ready  to  renew  his  attack  at  a  favor- 
able opportunity.  The  hunter  cautiously  gathered  up, 
piece  by  piece,  the  remnants  of  his  fat  game,  the  pack 
all  the  time  howling  and  snarling  and  even  making 
dashes  at  the  brave  seaman  who  was  robbing  them  of 
their  dinner. 

Meanwhile  the  Eskimo  interpreter,  Mr.  Miertsching, 
a  Moravian  missionary  of  German  birth,  came  up  in  a 
state  of  excitement  which  turned  to  fear  at  the  scene. 
His  long  service  in  Labrador  had  made  him  familiar 
with  the  audacity  and  prowess  of  the  wolf,  and  he 
viewed  uneasily  the  menacing  attitude  of  the  five 
w^olves,  who  plainly  intended  to  attempt  the  recovery 
of  the  deer  meat.  It  was  not  until  two  other  armed  men 
came  up  that  the  wolves  took  to  the  hills,  howling  de- 
fiantly. 

It  was  the  rule  of  the  ship  that  a  hunter  should 
have  the  head  and  the  heart  of  any  animal  he  killed, 
thus  to  encourage  the  activity  and  success  of  the 
hunters.  Though  there  were  less  than  twenty  pounds 
saved  from  the  deer,  a  generous  portion  went  to  the 
gallant  seaman  who  had  fought  off  so  successful!}'  the 
predatory  gang. 

With  the  opening  summer  of  1852  affairs  were  most 
critical,  as  the  ship  remained  fast  in  the  ice,  with  no  signs 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pim  8i 

of  relief.  In  July  Surgeon  Alexander  Armstrong  urged 
that  the  allowance  of  food  be  increased,  as  the  year  of 
short  rations  had  caused  scurvy  among  one-third  of  the 
crew.  As  all  fresh  meat  was  then  gone,  M'Clure  re- 
fused to  make  larger  food  issues. 

At  this  critical  juncture,  Woon,  a  sergeant  of  marines, 
shot  two  musk-oxen  under  rather  thrilling  and  unusual 
circumstances.  While  hunting,  the  sergeant  discovered 
two  musk-oxen  lying  down,  one  of  them  evidently 
asleep.  Creeping  quietly  toward  them,  taking  advan- 
tage of  such  cover  as  the  nature  of  the  ground  afforded, 
he  was  within  nearly  a  hundred  yards  when  the  alarmed 
oxen  scrambled  to  their  feet.  Firing  at  the  larger 
ox,  he  wounded  him,  but  not  fatally.  The  musk-ox 
charged  him,  stopping  within  about  forty  yards.  A 
second  shot  only  caused  the  animal  to  shake  his  black 
mane  and  toss  his  horns  in  a  threatening  manner. 
Meanwhile  the  second  ox  ran  forward,  as  though  to 
help  his  comrade,  and  was  in  turn  wounded  by  a  shot 
from  the  now  alarmed  hunter.  The  second  animal 
then  rushed  toward  the  sergeant  in  a  thoroughly  en- 
raged attitude,  and  though  much  smaller  than  his  com- 
panion advanced  with  much  more  courage  than  had  the 
first.  With  his  last  ball  the  hunter  fired  at  the  larger 
animal,  as  being  more  important  to  the  larder,  who, 
shot  through  the  brain,  fell  dead  in  his  tracks. 

Hastily  loading  his  musket  with  a  part  of  his  remain- 
ing powder,  the  sergeant  was  forced  to  use  the  screw  of 
his  ramrod  as  a  missile,  with  which  he  pierced  the  neck 
of  the  steadily  advancing  musk-ox.     As  this  still  failed 


82  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

to  check  the  advance  the  hunter  withdrew  slowly,  re- 
loading his  gun  with  his  single  remaining  missile,  the 
ramrod  of  the  musket.  By  this  time  the  thoroughly 
enraged  animal  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the  sergeant 
when  the  last  shot  was  fired.  The  ramrod  passed  di- 
agonally through  the  body  of  the  ox,  making  a  raking 
wound  from  which  the  animal  fell  dead  at  the  very 
feet  of  the  anxious  hunter.  The  larger  musk-ox,  with 
its  shaggy  mane,  curly  horns,  menacing  air,  and  formi- 
dable appearance,  was  quite  a  monster.  Its  huge  head 
and  massive  horns  made  up  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds  of  its  full  weight  of  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  pounds. 

During  the  brief  arctic  summer,  under  the  surgeon's 
orders,  the  valleys  were  searched  for  sorrel  and  scurvy 
grass,  which  contributed  to  the  improved  physical 
health  of  the  men.  It  was  not  possible,  however,  to 
dispel  the  mental  dejection  that  affected  all  of  the  crew 
as  the  summer  passed  without  such  changes  in  the  ice 
as  would  permit  the  Investigator  to  be  moved.  All 
knew  that  the  ship's  provisions  were  inadequate  for 
another  year,  which  must  now  be  faced.  If  game 
was  not  killed  in  much  larger  quantities,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  face  death  by  starvation,  unless  some  un- 
foreseen and  providential  relief  should  come  to  them. 

After  long  deliberation  M'Clure  made  known  his 
plans  to  the  assembled  crew  on  September  9,  1852.  In 
April  twenty-eight  men  and  officers  would  be  sent  east- 
ward with  sledges  to  Beechey  Island,  five  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  distant.     At  that  point  they  would  take 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pirn  83 

a  boat  and  stores  there  cached  and  endeavor  to  reach 
the  Danish  settlements  on  the  west  coast  of  Greenland. 
Nine  other  men  would  endeavor  to  reach  the  Hudson 
Bay  posts  via  the  Mackenzie  River,  taking  up  en  route 
the  cache  of  provisions  deposited  by  the  Investigator  on 
Prince  Royal  Islands  in  1850.  Thirty  of  the  healthiest 
of  the  crew  would  remain  with  the  ship  for  the  fourth 
arctic  winter,  awaiting  rehef  from  the  British  Admiralty 
in   1854. 

Of  necessity  the  daily  allowances  were  again  reduced, 
so  that  the  amount  of  food  issued  was  six  ounces  of 
meat,  ten  of  flour,  and  two  and  one-half  of  canned 
vegetables.  Surgeon  Armstrong  records  that  "the  feel- 
ing was  now  one  of  absolute  hunger,  the  cravings  of 
which  were  ever  present. " 

The  ration  was  generally  eaten  by  the  officers  at  a 
single  meal,  and  to  insure  exact  fairness,  and  to  remove 
any  ground  for  complaint,  the  mess  adopted  the  rule 
that  turn  about  should  be  taken  in  the  disagreeable 
duty  of  making  the  daily  issue.  The  officer  of  the  day 
arranged  the  food  in  as  many  portions  as  there  were 
persons.  Then,  in  an  order  fixed  by  lot,  each  officer 
inspected  the  various  piles  of  food  and  chose  that  which 
most  pleased  him.  The  officer  making  the  division  for 
the  day  took  the  lot  left. 

It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  men  suffered  even  more 
than  the  officers  on  these  starvation  rations.  Certainly 
they  were  unable  to  restrain  their  feehngs  as  w^ell  as 
did  the  officers,  and  on  October  4,  1853,  occurred  an 
act   doubtless  unprecedented  in  the  royal  nav}'.     Suf- 


84  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

fering  from  prolonged  cravings  of  hunger,  made  more 
acute  by  the  late  reduction  of  food  and  by  the  severe 
winter  cold,  the  ship's  crew  assembled  on  the  quarter- 
deck in  a  body  and  asked  Captain  M'Clure  for  more 
food,  which  he  refused  to  grant. 

By  hunting,  which  duty  now  fell  almost  entirely  on 
the  officers,  a  few  ounces  of  fresh  meat — deer,  field-mice, 
or  even  wolf — were  now  and  then  added  to  their  meagre 
meals.  The  fortunate  hunter,  besides  his  game  per- 
quisites of  head  and  heart,  also  enjoyed  other  privileges 
that  almost  always  brought  him  back  to  the  ship  in 
a  condition  that  made  him  a  frightful  spectacle  from 
blood  and  dirt.  When  he  killed  a  deer  or  other  animal, 
the  first  act  of  the  hunter  was  to  put  his  lips  to  the  mor- 
tal wound  and  take  therefrom  a  draught  of  fresh,  warm 
blood  that  ebbed  from  the  dying  animal.  In  taste  and 
in  effect  this  blood  was  found  to  be  very  like  a  warm 
uncooked  egg.  As  water  for  washing  was  precious  and 
rarely  to  be  had,  owing  to  lack  of  fuel,  and  then  in  small 
amounts,  the  ghastly  spectacle  that  a  man  presented 
when  the  blood  of  an  animal  was  glued  over  his  face, 
and  was  frozen  into  the  accumulated  grime  of  weeks 
without  washing,  may  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed. 

The  awful  cold  in  which  lived  and  hunted  these  half- 
starved  men  taxed  to  the  utmost  their  impaired  powers 
of  endurance.  For  two  days  in  January  the  tempera- 
ture was  ninety-one  degrees  below  the  freezing-point, 
and  the  average  for  that  month  was  four  degrees  be- 
low that  of  frozen  mercury. 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pirn  85 

The  pall  of  gloom  and  despair  that  had  come  with 
the  winter  darkness,  from  the  frightful  cold,  and  from 
increasing  sickness  was  somewhat  broken  on  March  15, 
1853,  when  the  weakest  half  of  the  crew  was  told  off  in 
parties  to  make  the  spring  retreat  with  sledges.  To 
put  them  in  condition  for  the  field  M'CIure  gave  them 
full  rations.  It  was  strange  to  note  how  closely  the}', 
eating  once  more  heartily,  were  watched  and  to  what 
extent  the  few  ounces  of  extra  food  made  them  objects 
of  envy  to  their  healthier  and  stronger  comrades,  who 
were  to  stay  by  the  ship  another  awful  winter. 

The  doctors,  however,  were  under  no  delusion  as  to 
the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  situation.  The  weaker 
members  of  the  crew  were  to  take  the  field  and  die  like 
men,  falling  in  the  traces  as  the}^  dragged  along  the 
fatal  sledge,  as  the  surgeons  Armstrong  and  Piers  had 
reported  in  writing  "the  absolute  unfitness  of  the  men 
for  the  performance  of  this  journey." 

Though  Captain  M'Clure,  with  the  spirit  of  op- 
timism that  belongs  to  a  commander,  endeavored  to 
persuade  himself  to  the  contrary,  it  was  evident  to  Dr. 
Armstrong  that  critical  conditions  had  developed  that 
threatened  the  extermination  of  the  expeditionary  force. 

The  able  and  clear-sighted  doctor  realized  that  the 
sick  were  not  simply  suffering  from  physical  exhaus- 
tion induced  by  the  short  rations  of  many  months. 
He  recognized  with  horror  that  far  the  greater  number 
of  the  crew  were  slowly  perishing  from  the  dreaded 
and  fatal  arctic  scourge — scurvy.  The  progress  and 
prevalence  of  the  disease  were  such  that  it  was  to  be 


86  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

feared  there  would  not  remain  after  a  few  months 
enough  well  men  to  properly  care  for  their  sick  com- 
rades. It  was  a  living  death  that  was  being  faced 
from  day  to  day. 

But  fate,  inexorable  and  inexplicable,  was  doubly 
placing  its  veto  on  the  feeble  plans  of  man.  Three  of 
the  men  who  were  told  off  for  the  forlorn  hope  died 
within  a  fortnight,  while  thirty-three  of  the  remaining 
thirtj'-six  men  were  suffering  from  materially  impaired 
health.  Then  came  the  relief  from  outside  sources, 
which  saved  the  expedition  as  a  whole. 

Meanwhile,  unknown  to  M*Clure,  a  searching  squad- 
ron of  five  British  ships,  commanded  by  Captain  Sir 
Edward  Belcher,  R.N.,  was  wintering  about  two  hun- 
dred miles  to  the  eastward  of  the  Investigator.  Sledg- 
ing from  one  of  these  ships,  the  Resolute^  at  Bridgeport 
Inlet,  Melville  Island,  Lieutenant  Mecham,  in  October, 
1852,  had  visited  Winter  Harbor,  and  on  top  of  the 
famous  sandstone  rock  had  found  the  record  there 
deposited  by  M'Clure  in  his  visit  to  that  point  in 
April,  1852,  six  months  earher,  which  stated  that  the 
Investigator  was  wintering  in  Mercy  Bay.  The  fast- 
approaching  darkness  made  the  trip  to  Mercy  Bay  im- 
possible, even  if  the  ship  was  yet  there — most  doubtful 
from  the  record.  For  M'Clure  had  added:  "If  we 
should  not  be  again  heard  of  .  .  .  any  attempt  to 
succor  would  be  to  increase  the  evil. " 

Nevertheless,  Captain  Kellet,  commanding  the  Res- 
olute, thought  it  wise  to  send  a  party  to  Mercy  Bay  the 
coming  spring,  not  for  M'Clure  alone,  but  to  seek  at 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pirn  87 

that  place  and  far  beyond  such  news  as  was  attainable 
about  Collinson's  squadron.  For  this  duty  was  selected 
Lieutenant  Bedford  C.  T.  Pirn,  R.N.,  a  young  officer  of 
spirit  and  determination,  who  had  volunteered  for  the 
journey.  Kellet's  advisers  urged  that  he  delay  the 
departure  until  the  end  of  March,  with  its  longer  days 
and  warmer  weather.  Pim  insisted  on  an  early  start, 
for  it  was  a  long  journey.  Collinson's  squadron  was 
provisioned  only  for  that  year  and  so  would  break  out 
through  the  ice  early  from  their  more  southerly  ports. 
Providentially,  Kellet  hstened  to  Pirn's  importunate 
pleas,  as  otherwise  at  least  half  of  the  crew  of  the 
Investigator  would  have  perished. 

On  March  10,  1853,  Pim  started  on  this  journey  of 
nearly  two  hundred  miles,  the  first  long  sledge  trip  ever 
attempted  in  an  arctic  expedition  at  such  an  early  date 
— twenty-five  days  in  advance  of  any  other  sledge  jour- 
ney from  the  Resolute  that  year.  Pim  with  eight  men 
hauled  the  man-sledge,  while  Dr.  Domville  with  one 
man  supported  him  with  a  dog-sledge  of  six  animals. 
Eleven  other  men  were  to  assist  them  for  five  days. 

Things  went  badly  from  the  very  beginning,  and 
Kellet  was  half  inclined  to  recall  Pim.  Under  frightful 
conditions  of  weather  and  of  ice  travel  one  man  fell  sick 
and  two  sledges  broke  down.  Fearing  that  he  would  be 
kept  back,  Pim  wisely  stayed  in  the  field,  sending  back 
for  other  men  and  sledges.  The  first  night  out  was 
quite  unendurable,  the  temperature  falling  to  seventy- 
six  degrees  below  the  freezing-point.  Then  followed 
violent   bhzzards   which    storm-stayed    the   party   for 


88  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

four  days,  during  which  the  temperature  inside  their 
double  tent  fell  to  fifty-six  degrees  below  freezing.  One 
comfort  to  the  young  lieutenant  was  the  presence  of  a 
veteran  polar  seaman,  Hoile,  who  had  learned  all  the 
tricks  and  secrets  of  handling  gear  and  stores  in  the 
field  during  his  campaigns  under  the  famous  arctic 
sledgeman  Sir  Leopold  McQintock.  But  no  skill  could 
make  men  comfortable  under  such  awful  cold.  For 
instance,  the  fur  sleeping  bags  at  the  start  had  been 
dry,  pliant,  and  cold-proof.  Now  the  vapor  from  the 
men's  bodies  had  dampened  the  bags  which,  frozen 
solid,  would  stand  on  end  without  falling,  as  though 
made  of  light  sheet-iron. 

Marching  onward,  Pim's  next  trouble  was  with  a 
food-cache,  laid  down  by  himself  the  previous  autumn, 
which  v,7ild  animals — probably  bears  and  wolves — had 
plundered  in  large  part,  though  some  of  the  thick  metal 
coverings  of  the  solidly  frozen  meats  had  escaped  with 
rough  marks  of  the  teeth  and  claws. 

Pim  took  everything  with  jovial  humor,  and  was 
entirely  happy  when  he  left  the  firm  land  of  Melville 
Island  to  cross  frozen  Banks  Strait  to  Mercy  Bay,  Banks 
Land.  Bad  as  was  travel  along  the  ice-foot  bordering 
the  land,  it  was  far  worse  in  the  strait.  Domville  offi- 
cially reported  that  their  course  "was  beset  with  every 
difficulty,  every  variety  of  hummocks  and  deep  snow 
barring  our  progress  in  all  directions.  Some  of  the 
ridges,  too  irregular  for  a  loaded  sledge,  required  port- 
ages to  be  made,  a  mode  of  proceeding  almost  equally 
difficult  and  dangerous  to  the  limbs,  from  the  men  sink- 


The  Journey  of  Bedford  Pirn  89 

ing  to  the  middle  through  the  soft  snow  amongst  the 
masses  of  forced-up  hummocks.  " 

Later  there  came  some  level  stretches,  and  then  Pirn 
hoisted  a  sail  on  the  man-sledge  to  help  it  along.  It 
nearly  proved  their  ruin,  for  the  sledge  took  charge 
on  a  steep,  glassy  hummock,  knocked  over  the  men, 
plunged  into  a  deep  crevasse,  and  broke  a  runner.  Pirn 
did  not  hesitate  an  hour  over  the  best  thing  to  do. 
Leaving  Domville  to  patch  up  the  sledge  and  to  re- 
turn and  await  him  at  the  last  depot,  Pim  started  ahead 
with  his  six  dogs  and  two  men  toward  Alercy  Bay. 
Sleepless  nights  of  fearful  cold,  days  of  weary  toil  with 
sun-dazzled  eyes,  biting  blasts  of  sharp  blizzards,  ex- 
hausting struggles  through  rubble  ice — these  one  and 
all  could  neither  quench  the  spirit  nor  bend  the  will  of 
this  forceful  man.  Ever  faithful  to  the  motto  of  his 
sledge  flag,  "Hope  on:  hope  ever,"  he  ceased  not  until 
the  land  was  reached  and  success  insured. 

Skirting  the  ice-foot  of  the  northeastern  coast  of 
Banks  Land,  his  heart  came  into  his  mouth  as,  round- 
ing a  cape,  he  saw  the  dark  spars  of  an  ice-beset  ship 
loom  up  against  the  sullen  southern  sky.  Blistered  and 
brazened,  half  snow-blinded,  with  face  covered  with 
accumulations  of  greasy  soot,  what  wonder  that  this 
fur-clad  figure  was  thought  by  the  amazed  M'Clure  to 
be  an  Eskimo,  a  mistake  aided  by  the  wild  gesticula- 
tions and  loud,  unintelligible  shouts  of  a  man  whose 
face  was  as  black  as  ebony. 

Of  Pirn's  coming  Dr.  Armstrong  of  the  Investigator 
sa)s:  "No  words  could  express  the  feelings  of  heart- 


90  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

felt  gladness  which  all  experienced  at  this  unlooked-for, 
this  most  providential  arrival." 

Over  the  rough,  winding  trails  of  the  arctic  highway, 
Pirn  had  travelled  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  miles 
from  ship  to  ship,  and  made  a  journey  that  will  ever  live 
in  polar  annals  as  fraught  with  vital  interests  beyond 
those  of  any  other  single  sledge  trip. 

Of  Pirn's  work  a  fellow-officer,  McDougal,  wrote: 
**Each  member  of  our  little  community  must  have  felt 
his  heart  glow  to  reflect  that  he  formed  one  of  the  little 
band  whose  undertakings  in  the  cause  of  humanity  had 
been  crowned  with  such  success." 

Thus  it  happened  that  through  the  heroic  energy  and 
persistent  efforts  of  Bedford  Pim,  the  outcome  of  the 
voyage  of  the  Investigator*  was  changed  from  that  of 
certain  disaster  to  one  of  astounding  success.  Save 
for  this  timely  sledge  journey,  many  of  his  sailor  com- 
rades must  have  found  unknown  graves  among  the 
ice-crowned  isles  of  the  northern  seas,  and  an  awful 
tragedy  would  have  marked  the  splendid  annals  of  the 
Franklin  search. 

*  M'CIure  abandoned  the  Investigator  shortly  after  Pirn's  sledge  journey, 
and  crossing  the  ice  with  his  men  joined  Belcher's  squadron.  M'CIure  and 
his  crew  thus  made  the  northwest  passage  and  received  therefor  the  re- 
ward of  ten  thousand  pounds  sterling.  Captain  J.  E.  Bernier,  who  wintered 
at  Melville  Island  in  the  Canadian  steamer  Arctic,  1908-9,  says  of  the  In- 
vestigator: "M'CIure  anchored  his  vessel  .  .  .  t»  be  cast  on  a  shoal,  where, 
he  said,  she  would  last  for  ages.  He  was  mistaken,  as  no  sign  was  visible  of 
the  vessel  when  the  officer  of  the  Arctic  visited  Mercj  Bay  in  1908. " 


KANE'S  RESCUE  OF  HIS  FREEZING 
SHIPMATES 


KANE'S  RESCUE  OF  HIS  FREEZING 
SHIPMATES 

"  Men  in  no  particular  approach  so  nearly  to  the  gods 
as  by  giving  safety  to  their  fellow-men." — Cicero. 

IN  1853  the  United  States  co-operated  a  second  time 
in  the  search  for  Sir  John  FrankHn,  and  sent  into 
Smith  Sound  an  expedition  fitted  out  through  the 
liberaHty  of  Henry  Grinnell  and  George  Peabody.  Doc- 
tor Elisha  Kent  Kane,  United  States  Navy,  commanded 
the  expedition,  and  placed  his  brig  Advance  in  win- 
ter quarters  in  Rensselaer  Harbor,  West  Greenland, 
whence  he  planned  by  boats  and  sledges  to  "exam- 
ine the  coast  lines  for  vestiges  of  the  lost  (Frankhn's) 
party."  This  sketch  relates  particularly  to  Kane's  per- 
sonal and  heroic  endeavors  to  save  from  death  one  of 
his  own  field  parties. 

Among  arctic  explorers  there  is  no  more  striking 
and  interesting  figure  than  that  of  Elisha  Kent  Kane, 
whose  enthusiasm  created  and  individuality  dominated 
the  search  of  1853.  Well-intended,  his  expedition  was 
fallacious  in  plan,  unsuitably  equipped,  inadequately 
supplied,  and  manned  by  inexperienced  volunteers. 
It  seemed  doomed  to  utter  and  dismal  failure,  yet 
through  the  activities  of  the  versatile  leader  its  gen- 
eral results  exceeded  those  of  any  other  arctic  expedi- 
tion of  his  generation.     With  a  literary  charm  and  a 

93 


94  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

beauty  of  expression  unexcelled  by  any  other  polar 
explorer,  Kane  revealed  to  the  world  the  human  rela- 
tions and  racial  qualities  of  the  Etah  Eskimo,  told  of 
the  plant  and  animal  life  of  that  desolate  region,  re- 
corded the  march  of  physical  forces,  and  outlined  the 
safe  and  practicable  route  whereby  alone  the  north 
pole  has  been  reached.  But  if  his  mind  was  imbued 
with  a  spirit  of  philosophy,  and  if  his  poetic  vision  saw 
first  the  beautiful,  yet  his  sense  of  duty  and  strength 
of  will  inevitably  involved  his  exposure  to  any  and  all 
privations  that  promised  definite  results. 

The  autumnal  journeys  of  1853  had  led  to  noth- 
ing promising  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Advance,  so 
throughout  the  winter  he  was  busy  in  preparing  for  the 
spring  sledge  trips  in  order  to  search  the  northern 
coast  line  for  the  lost  explorers.  Thus  planning  and 
laboring  he  definitely  recognizes  the  unfavorable  situa- 
tion. *'The  death  of  my  dogs,  fifty-seven  in  all,  the 
rugged  obstacles  of  the  ice,  and  the  intense  cold  (the 
temperature  had  fallen  to  one  hundred  degrees  below 
the  freezing-point)  have  obliged  me  to  reorganize  our 
whole  equipment.  We  have  had  to  discard  ail  our 
India-rubber  fancy-work.  Canvas  shoemaking,  fur- 
socking,  sewing,  carpentering  are  all  going  on.  Pem- 
mican  cases  are  thawing,  buffalo  robes  drying,  camp 
equipments  are  in  the  corners."  He  adds:  "The 
scurvy  spots  that  mottled  our  faces  made  it  plain  that 
we  were  all  unfit  for  arduous  travel  on  foot  at  the  in- 
tense temperatures  of  the  nominal  spring.  But  I  jelt 
that  our  work  was  unfinished." 


Smith  Sound  and  West  Greenland. 


96  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

The  very  start  of  the  party,  on  March  19,  1854,  ^^"'" 
dicated  clearly  that  two  errors,  frequent  in  arctic  work, 
had  been  committed — overloading  and  too  early  a 
start  in  periods  of  extreme  cold.  Kane  had  himself 
noticed  that  in  extreme  cold,  say  fifty  degrees  below 
free2ing,*'the  ice  or  snow  covering  offers  great  resistance 
to  the  sledge-runners.  The  dry  snow  in  its  finely  di- 
vided state  resembles  sand,  and  the  runners  creak  as 
they  pass  over  it."  In  a  temperature  of  seventy-one 
degrees  below  freezing  "we  packed  the  sledge  and 
strapped  on  the  boat  to  see  how  she  would  drag.  Eight 
men  were  scarcely  able  to  move  her.  .  .  .  Difficulties 
of  draught  must  not  interfere  with  my  parties. "  Erro- 
neously attributing  the  trouble  to  the  thin  runners  of 
his  Eskimo  sledge,  he  changed  it  for  one  with  broad- 
gauged  sledge-runners,  and  then  added  two  hundred 
pounds  of  pemmican  to  the  load. 

The  party  started  to  the  north  in  a  temperature  of 
seventy-five  degrees  below  freezing,  and  even  with 
extra  men  in  the  rue-raddies  (canvas  shoulder-belts 
for  dragging  the  sledge)  they  were  barely  able  to  move 
the  sledge  forward  over  the  smooth,  level  floes  near 
the  brig. 

When  the  sledgemen  came  to  rough  ice  they  promptly 
dumped  both  boat  and  pemmican,  realizing  the  impos- 
sibility of  hauHng  them.  Soon  they  came  to  high, 
uptilted  ice-hummocks,  separated  by  precipitous  ice- 
chasms  filled  with  drifting  snow.  It  then  became  nec- 
essary to  divide  the  load  and  so  travel  three  times  over 
the  same  road. 


Kane's  Rescue  of  His  Shipmates  97 

Meanwhile  they  seemed  to  be  advancing  over  a  sea 
of  desolation  whereon  were  utterly  lacking  the  signs  of 
life — few  enough  even  there  along  the  shore.  From 
the  snow-covered  floes  were  entirely  absent  the  tiny 
traces  of  the  snowy  ptarmigan,  the  weaving,  wandering 
trails  of  the  arctic  fox,  and  the  sprawling  foot-marks  of 
the  polar  bear.  Once,  indeed,  they  saw  a  short  distance 
seaward  a  blow-hole,  where  lately  a  seal  had  come  for 
needful  air,  as  shown  by  the  thin  glassy  ice-covering, 
unbroken  for  days. 

Suddenly  the  weather  changed,  the  clear  atmosphere 
giving  way  to  a  frosty  fog,  which  shut  out  any  distant 
views,  and  save  for  their  compass  bearings  they  did  not 
know  the  direction  of  their  march,  nor  indeed  whether 
the  frozen  sea  continued  or  that  land,  so  desired,  was 
near  or  far. 

The  coming  of  a  northeast  blizzard  caused  fright- 
ful sufferings  to  these  inexperienced  arctic  sledgemen. 
Neither  wind  or  snow  proof,  the  tent  was  speedily 
filled  with  the  drifting,  sand-like  snow,  which  satu- 
rated the  sleeping-gear  and  nearly  stopped  the  cooking. 
Travel  in  such  weather  would  have  been  dangerous  for 
strong,  active  men,  but  Baker  was  too  sick  even  to  walk, 
and  so  the  days  were  passed  in  endeavors  to  keep  them- 
selves warm  and  bring  about  a  state  of  comfort.  Still 
they  went  on  with  courage  the  first  fine  day,  though 
their  progress  was  very  slow,  and  there  seemed  to  be 
no  definite  hope  of  reaching  land  where  their  depot 
of  provisions  could  be  cached. 

A  second  blizzard  ended  the  advance  of  the  worn- 


98  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

out,  thoroughly  discouraged  men.  When  the  weather 
cleared  Brooks,  the  mate  in  charge,  found  further  prog- 
ress hopeless.  "The  hummocks  in  front  consist  of 
pieces  of  ice  from  one  to  two  feet  thick,  having  sharp 
edges  and  piled  up  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  high.  Single 
piles  sometimes  exceeded  thirty  feet  in  height,  and  at  a 
distance  have  the  appearance  of  icebergs.  We  failed 
to  perceive  a  single  opening  in  their  chain. "  His  wise 
decision  to  return  was  all  that  saved  any  member  of 
the  party. 

Of  the  conditions  under  which  the  men  slept,  Sonntag, 
who  was  one  of  the  sledgemen,  says:  "The  evaporation 
from  the  bodies  of  the  sleepers  became  condensed  on  the 
blanket-bags  and  buffalo-skins,  which  acquired  a  lining 
of  ice  as  soon  as  the  men  emerged  from  them  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  when  required  for  use  at  night  these  bedclothes 
were  stiffly  frozen.  The  labor  of  sledge-hauling  was 
so  excessive  that,  notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the 
cold,  the  men  were  often  thrown  into  profuse  perspira- 
tion, and  this  was  soon  followed  by  the  clothes  being 
frozen  together  so  firmly  that  they  were  not  thawed 
asunder  until  the  men  entered  their  sleeping-bags." 

Inspired  by  the  fact  they  that  were  homeward  bound, 
the  men  worked  with  desperate  energy,  and  camped 
only  when  they  were  ready  to  drop  with  exhaustion. 
The  last  part  of  the  march  was  through  deep  snow, 
which  sifted  into  every  crevice  of  the  men's  garments, 
and,  melting  there  from  the  heat  of  the  body,  saturated 
their  clothing.  The  most  essential  rules  for  the  safety 
of  arctic  sledgemen  are  the  careful  brushing  of  all  snow 


Kane's  Rescue  of  His  Shipmates  99 

from  the  garments  before  entering  the  tent  and  the 
replacing  of  the  always  damp  foot-gear  with  dry  socks. 
Exhausted  and  unadvised,  most  of  the  men  sought  ref- 
uge from  the  fearful  cold  by  crawling  unbrushed  into 
their  frozen  sleeping-bags,  without  even  removing  their 
boots  let  alone  their  socks.  That  day  of  the  march  had 
been  one  of  awful  cold,  the  average  temperature  being 
more  than  seventy  degrees  below  freezing,  and  the  im- 
prudent sledgemen  paid  that  night  the  exacting  penalty 
of  their  rash  ignorance.  The  following  morning  the 
situation  was  hopeless  unless  help  could  be  had  from 
the  brig.  The  feet  of  four  of  the  men  were  so  badly 
frozen  that  they  could  not  even  walk,  much  less  drag 
the  sledge.  It  was  impossible  for  the  four  well  men  to 
haul  their  four  disabled  shipmates  to  the  AdvancCy 
thirty  miles  distant. 

At  the  call  for  volunteers  for  the  dangerous  journey, 
which  must  be  made  in  one  march,  all  four  of  the  well 
men  responded,  and  astronomer  Sonntag,  with  two 
Danes,  Ohlsen  and  Petersen,  made  the  journey.  Irish 
Tommy,  as  the  crew  called  Seaman  Hickey,  rebelled  at 
first  because  he  was  not  accepted,  but  his  generous 
heart  reconciled  him  to  remaining  when  it  was  pointed 
out  that  his  qualities  as  cook  and  as  handy-man  made 
him  the  best  person  to  care  for  his  crippled  ship- 
mates. 

Kane  tells  the  story  of  the  rescue  in  language  that 
cannot  be  improved.  "We  were  at  work  cheerfully, 
sewing  on  moccasins  by  the  blaze  of  our  lamps,  when, 
toward  midnight,  we  heard  steps  and  the  next  minute 


loo  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Sonntag,  Ohlsen,  and  Petersen  came  into  the  cabin, 
swollen,  haggard,  and  hardly  able  to  speak.  They  had 
left  their  companions  in  the  ice,  risking  their  own 
lives  to  bring  us  the  news.  Brooks,  Baker,  Wilson,  and 
Pierre  were  all  lying  frozen  and  disabled.  Where  .^ 
They  could  not  tell — somewhere  in  and  among  the  hum- 
mocks to  the  north  and  east;  it  was  drifting  heavily 
around  them  when  they  parted. " 

With  impaired  health,  in  feeble  strength,  ignoring 
the  protests  of  his  officers  against  such  exposure,  the 
heroic  Kane  waited  not  a  moment,  but  decided  to  take 
the  field  and  risk  his  life,  if  necessary,  to  rescue  his 
crippled  shipmates. 

Kane  continues:  "Rigging  out  the  Little  Willie  sledge 
with  a  buffalo  cover,  a  small  tent,  and  a  package  of 
pemmican,  Ohlsen  (who  seemed  to  have  his  faculties 
rather  more  at  command  than  his  associates)  was 
strapped  on  in  a  fur  bag,  his  legs  wrapped  in  dog-skins 
and  eider-down,  and  we  were  off.  Our  party  consisted 
of  myself  and  nine  others.  We  carried  only  the  clothes 
on  our  backs.  The  thermometer  stood  at  seventy-eight 
degrees  below  the  freezing-point.  .  .  . 

"It  was  not  until  we  had  travelled  sixteen  hours  that 
we  began  to  lose  our  way.  Our  lost  companions  were 
somewhere  in  the  area  before  us,  within  a  radius  of  forty 
miles.  For  fifty  hours  without  sleep,  Ohlsen  fell  asleep 
as  soon  as  we  began  to  move,  and  now  awoke  with  un- 
equivocal signs  of  mental  disturbance.  He  had  lost 
the  bearings  of  the  icebergs.  I  gave  orders  to  abandon 
the  sledge  and  disperse  in  search  of  foot-marks.     We 


Kane's  Rescue  of  His  Shipmates  loi 

raised  our  tent,  gave  each  man  a  small  allowance  of 
pemmican  to  carry  on  his  person,  and  poor  Ohlsen,  just 
able  to  keep  his  legs,  was  liberated. 

"The  thermometer  had  fallen  to  eighty-one  degrees 
below  freezing,  with  the  wind  setting  in  sharply  from 
the  northwest.  It  was  out  of  the  question  to  halt;  it 
required  brisk  exercise  to  keep  us  from  freezing.  I  could 
not  even  melt  ice  for  water,  and  any  resort  to  snow  for 
allaying  thirst  was  followed  by  bloody  lips  and  tongue; 
it  burnt  like  caustic. 

"We  moved  on  looking  for  traces  as  we  went.  When 
the  men  were  ordered  to  spread  themselves,  to  multi- 
ply the  chances,  they  kept  closing  up  continually.  The 
strange  manner  in  which  we  were  affected  I  attribute 
as  much  to  shattered  nerves  as  to  the  cold.  McGary 
and  Bonsall,  who  had  stood  out  our  severest  marches, 
were  seized  with  trembling  fits  and  short  breath.  In 
spite  of  all  my  efforts  to  keep  up  an  example  of  sound 
bearing,  I  fainted  twice  on  the  snow. 

"We  had  been  out  eighteen  hours  when  Hans,  our 
Eskimo  hunter,  thought  he  saw  a  broad  sledge-track 
which  the  drift  had  nearly  effaced.  We  were  some  of  us 
doubtful  at  first  whether  it  was  not  one  of  those  acci- 
dental rifts  which  the  gales  make  in  the  surface  snow. 
But  as  we  traced  it  on  to  the  deep  snow  among  the  hum- 
mocks we  were  led  to  footsteps.  Following  these  with 
religious  care,  we  at  last  came  in  sight  of  a  small  Amer- 
ican flag  fluttering  from  a  hummock,  and  lower  down 
a  little  masonic  banner  hanging  from  a  tent-pole  hardly 
above  the  drift.     It  was  the  camp  of  our  disabled  com- 


I02  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

rades;  we  reached  it  after  an  unbroken  march  of  twenty- 
one  hours. 

"The  httle  tent  was  nearly  covered  with  snow.  I 
was  not  among  the  first  to  come  up;  but  when  I 
reached  the  tent-curtain  the  men  were  standing  in 
single  file  on  each  side  of  it.  With  more  kindness  and 
delicacy  of  feeling  than  is  often  supposed  to  belong  to 
sailors,  but  which  is  almost  characteristic,  they  intim- 
ated their  wish  that  I  should  go  in  alone,  and  I  crawled 
in.  Coming  upon  the  darkness,  as  I  heard  before  me 
the  burst  of  welcome  gladness  that  came  from  the  four 
poor  fellows  stretched  on  their  backs,  and  then  for  the 
first  time  the  cheer  outside,  my  weakness  and  my 
gratitude  together  almost  overcame  me.  They  had 
expected  me!     They  were  sure  that  I  would  come ! 

"We  were  now  fifteen  souls;  the  thermometer  seventy- 
five  degrees  below  the  freezing-point.  Our  sole  ac- 
commodation was  a  tent  barely  able  to  hold  eight  per- 
sons; more  than  half  of  our  party  were  obliged  to  keep 
from  freezing  by  walking  outside  while  the  others  slept." 

For  the  return  journey:  "The  sick,  with  their  limbs 
sewed  up  carefully  in  reindeer-skins,  were  placed  upon 
the  bed  of  buffalo-robes,  in  a  half-reclining  posture; 
other  skins  and  blankets  were  thrown  above  them,  and 
the  whole  litter  was  lashed  together  so  as  to  allow  but 
a  single  opening  opposite  the  mouth  for  breathing. 
This  necessary  work  cost  us  a  great  deal  of  effort,  but 
it  was  essential  to  the  lives  of  the  sufferers.  After  re- 
peating a  short  prayer  we  set  out  on  our  retreat. " 

The  journey  homeward  was  made  under  conditions 


Kane's  Rescue  of  His  Shipmates         103 

of  almost  insuperable  difficulty  and  distress  in  which 
lack  of  sleep  played  a  greater  part  than  either  cold  or 
physical  labor,  severe  as  they  both  were.  As  the 
energy  of  the  sledgemen  failed  the  tent  of  the  held  party 
was  pitched,  and  McGary  left  with  orders  to  move  for- 
ward after  a  sleep  of  four  hours. 

Not  sparing  himself,  Kane  went  on  with  one  man  and 
reached  the  half-way  tent,  to  melt  ice  and  pemmican, 
in  time  to  save  its  destruction  by  a  predatory  polar  bear. 
He  says:  "The  tent  was  uninjured  though  the  bear  had 
overturned  it,  tossing  the  buffalo-robes  and  pemmican 
into  the  snow.  All  we  recollect  is  that  we  had  great 
difficulty  in  raising  the  tent.  We  crept  into  our  rein- 
deer-bags without  speaking,  and  for  the  next  three 
hours  slept  on  in  a  dreamy  but  intense  slumber.  When 
I  awoke  my  long  beard  was  a  mass  of  ice,  frozen  fast 
to  the  buffalo-skin;  Godfrey  had  to  cut  me  out  with  his 
jack-knife." 

A  few  hours  later  the  crippled  party  rejoined  Kane 
and  after  refreshment  went  on  toward  the  ship.  Fort- 
unately the  weather  was  fine  and  the  cold  less  severe. 
Yet,  says  Kane,  "Our  halts  multiplied,  and  we  fell, 
half-sleeping,  in  the  snow.  Strange  to  say,  it  refreshed 
us.  I  ventured  on  the  experiment,  making  Riley  wake 
me  at  the  end  of  three  minutes.  I  felt  so  much  bene- 
fited that  I  timed  the  men  in  the  same  way.  They  sat 
on  the  runners  of  the  sledge,  fell  asleep  instantly,  and 
were  forced  to  wakefulness  when  their  three  minutes 
were  out." 

In    an    utterly    exhausted,   half-delirious   condition, 


I04  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

they  were  met  a  few  miles  from  the  brig  by  a  dog- 
sledge  bringing  restoratives.  Of  the  outcome  of  the 
sledge  journey  out  and  back  Kane  says:  "Ohlsen  suf- 
fered some  time  from  strabismus  and  blindness;  two 
others  underwent  amputation  of  parts  of  the  foot  with- 
out unpleasant  consequences;  and  two  died  in  spite  of 
all  our  efforts. 

"The  rescue  party  had  been  out  for  seventy-two 
hours.  We  had  halted  in  all  eight  hours,  half  of  our 
number  sleeping  at  a  time.  We  travelled  between 
eighty  and  ninety  miles,  most  of  the  way  dragging  a 
heavy  sledge.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  whole  time 
was  seventy-three  degrees  below  freezing,  including  the 
warmest  hours  of  the  three  days.  We  had  no  water 
except  at  our  two  halts,  and  were  at  no  time  able  to 
intermit  vigorous  exercise  without  freezing. " 

Such  remarkable  and  successful  efforts  to  rescue  their 
suffering  shipmates  cannot  fail  to  excite  the  admiration 
of  all,  if  merely  as  an  astonishing  instance  of  man's 
physical  endurance.  Yet  on  the  whole  such  feelings 
are  subordinate  in  the  hearts  of  most  men  to  a  sense 
of  reverence  for  the  spirit  that  animated  Kane  and  his 
fellows  to  sacrifice  their  personal  comfort  and  venture 
their  lives  for  the  relief  and  safety  of  their  disabled 
comrades. 


HOW  WOON  WON  PROMOTION 


HOW  WOON  WON   PROMOTION 

"Poor,  reckless,  rude,  low-born,  untaught, 
A  heart  with  English  instinct  fraught, 
He  only  knows  that  not  through  him 
Shall  England  come  to  shame." 

— Doyle. 

THIS  tale  recites  one  of  the  many  stirring  experi- 
ences of  the  crew  of  her  majesty's  ship  Investigatory 
which,  after  having  been  frozen  fast  in  the  ice- 
floes of  Mercy  Bay,  Banks  Land,  for  two  years,  was 
abandoned,  June  3,  1853.  Owing  to  lack  of  provisions, 
the  men,  living  on  two-thirds  rations  for  twenty  months, 
were  obliged  to  keep  the  field  for  hunting  purposes  so 
as  to  avoid  death  by  starvation.  The  incidents  herein 
related  occurred  in  connection  with  the  chase. 

The  sun  had  been  entirely  absent  for  ninety-four 
days,  and  the  coldest  period  of  the  winter  was  at 
hand.  Even  at  the  warmest  moment  of  the  midwinter 
month,  February,  the  temperature  had  barely  risen  to 
zero.  At  times  the  mercury  froze  solid,  and  the  cold 
was  so  intense  that  even  the  ship  herself  seemed  to 
suffer  as  much  as  the  half-starved,  ill-clad  men.  The 
metal  bolts  and  rivets  glared  at  one  with  their  ice- 
covered  ends,  while  the  wooden  tree-nails,  timbers,  and 
doors  cracked  continually  under  the  twin  action  of  frost 

107 


io8  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

and  contraction.  And  so  since  the  New  Year's  coming 
the  crew  had  shielded  themselves  as  best  they  could 
from  the  utter  darkness  of  the  land  and  the  frightful 
cold  of  the  air.  Even  when  it  was  possible  hunting 
was  unfruitful  of  results;  the  deer  had  migrated  to 
the  pastures  of  the  milder  south,  while  the  hares  and 
small  game  had  huddled  in  crannies  and  nooks  for 
shelter  against  the  wind. 

But  now  a  few  hours  of  feeble  twilight,  steadily  in- 
creasing in  duration  and  in  brightness,  were  marked 
by  broad  bands  of  life-giving  light  at  mid-day  in  the 
southern  sky.  Though  the  longer  days  were  those  of 
sharper  cold,  yet  hunger  and  want  early  drove  the 
hunters  from  the  ship.  As  soon  as  there  was  enough 
glimmering  light  to  make  it  possible,  the  keen-eyed 
sportsmen  started  inland  to  find  and  follow  the  trails 
of  such  animals  as  might  yet  be  in  the  country.  At  the 
same  time  they  were  charged  to  take  the  utmost  care 
to  make  sharp  note  of  prominent  landmarks  by  which 
they  could  safely  take  up  their  return  march  to  the 
Investigator. 

The  spring  hunt  may  be  said  to  have  fairly  opened 
ten  days  before  the  return  of  the  long-absent  sun,  when 
a  wretchedly  gaunt  reindeer  was  killed  on  January 
28,  1852.  For  days  individual  deer  had  been  seen,  evi- 
dently returned  from  the  south,  where  their  winter  life 
must  have  been  a  constant  struggle  against  starvation, 
judging  from  the  slain  animal.  While  the  deer  of  the 
previous  autumn  were  always  In  good  flesh,  there  was 
in   this  case  not  a  bit  of  fat  on  any  rib.     A  collec- 


How  Woon  Won  Promotion  109 


tion  of  mere  skin  and  bones,  this  deer  weighed  less 
than  ninety  pounds,  about  the  same  as  a  large  wolf 
or  draught-dog. 

This  early  success  stimulated  to  action  the  hungry 
hunters,  who  thenceforth  let  no  day  pass  without 
ranging  the  distant  hills  for  sign  of  deer  or  musk-ox, 
anxious  for  the  hunter's  perquisites — the  longed-for 
head  and  heart  of  the  game. 

On  February  9  the  day  broke  calm,  clear,  and  unusu- 
ally bright;  especially  attractive  because  of  an  hour  of 
sunlight,  the  sun  having  come  above  the  horizon  at  mid- 
day four  days  earlier.  Every  man  who  could  get  per- 
mission was  enticed  into  the  field,  and  great  was  the 
furore  when  one  party  brought  in  a  small  deer,  giv- 
ing promise  of  more  from  the  hunters  still  in  the  open. 
With  the  passing  hours  one  man  after  another  reached 
the  ship,  while  the  slowly  vanishing  twilight  became 
fainter  and  fainter.  When  the  darkness  of  night  had 
come  and  the  officer  of  the  deck  had  checked  off  the 
hunters,  he  reported  to  the  captain  that  two  men  were 
\^et  absent — Sergeant  John  Woon  and  Seaman  Charles 
Anderson,  both  excellent  men,  active-bodied  and  dis- 
tinguished as  hunters. 

V/oon  was  the  non-commissioned  officer  in  charge  of 
the  detachment  of  royal  marines,  whose  standing  and 
popularity  were  almost  as  high  with  the  seamen  as  with 
his  own  corps.  Dr.  Armstrong  says  of  him:  "He 
proved  himself  invaluable,  was  always  a  ready  volun- 
teer, most  correct  and  soldier-like  in  conduct,  ever  con- 
tributed to  the  hilarity  and  cheerfulness  of  the  crew,  and 


I  lo  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

was  brave  and  intrepid  on  every  occasion,  which  fully 
tested  the  man. " 

Whether  on  shipboard  or  on  land,  Woon  never  failed 
to  do  a  lion's  share  of  the  work  in  hand,  and  was  al- 
ways the  first  to  cheer  and  help  a  tired  comrade.  An 
indefatigable  and  successful  hunter,  he  was  familiar 
with  the  white  wolves  that  so  menaced  the  safety  of 
individuals.  On  one  occasion,  going  for  a  deer  shot 
that  day,  he  killed  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred  yards  a 
gaunt  wolf  who  was  greedily  devouring  the  precious 
carcass.  This  monster  wolf,  with  a  thick  coat  of  pure, 
unstained  white,  weighed  eighty  pounds,  was  three  feet 
four  inches  high  and  five  feet  ten  inches  in  length. 

It  was  Sergeant  Woon  also  who  had  distinguished 
himself  in  kilUng,  under  thrilling  circumstances,  two 
infuriated  and  charging  musk-oxen,  as  elsewhere  re- 
lated in  the  sketch,  "Pim's  Timely  Sledge  Journey." 
Altogether  he  was  a  man  quite  able  to  care  for  himself, 
though  not  coming  to  the  ship  with  such  a  reputation 
for  woodcraft,  hunting  skill,  and  physical  activity  as 
had  Seaman  Anderson. 

Able  Seaman  Charles  Anderson  was  a  man  of  power- 
ful build  and  great  muscular  strength,  who  had  made 
himself  a  leader  among  the  seamen  by  his  success  in 
athletic  sports,  in  which  he  easily  excelled  any  other 
man  on  the  ship.  A  Canadian  by  birth,  his  color  and 
his  personality  disclosed  in  his  veins  deep  strains  of 
Indian  or  other  alien  blood.  Inured  to  the  hardships 
and  labors  of  a  hunter's  life  in  the  Hudson  Bay  terri- 
tory, where  he  claimed  to  have  been  an  employee,  he 


How  Woon  Won  Promotion  iii 

displayed  in  his  social  relations  the  mercurial  and 
attractive  qualities  which  distinguish  the  French  half- 
breeds,  the  famous  coureurs  de  bois. 

At  the  evening  meal  there  was  more  or  less  chaffing 
between  the  marines  and  the  seamen  as  to  where  were 
Woon  and  Anderson  and  what  success  they  were  hav- 
ing in  the  field.  With  a  trace  of  that  special  pride  of 
corps  which  goes  so  far  to  make  the  various  arms  of 
the  mihtary  services  so  efficient,  the  seamen  said  that 
it  was  a  pity  that  the  absent  men  were  not  together  so 
that  Woon's  safety  might  be  better  assured  by  the  skill 
and  strength  of  his  friend  Anderson.  To  these  jests 
the  royal  marines  answered,  as  was  their  wont,  in  kind, 
enlarging  ludicrously  by  side  remarks  and  flings  on  the 
reputed  helplessness  of  sailors  on  land,  especially  on 
deer-back. 

At  eight  o'clock  that  night  affairs  took  a  different 
turn,  when  it  was  known  that  M'Clure  and  the  other 
officers  felt  serious  alarm  over  the  continued  absence 
of  two  hunters  who  were  said  to  be  In  the  field  apart. 
The  fog  had  given  place  to  a  bright  sky,  with  feeble 
light  and  rapidly  falling  temperature,  so  that  disaster 
to  one  or  both  was  thought  to  be  probable.  The  pres- 
ence and  boldness  of  the  prowling  bands  of  ravenous 
wolves  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  ship  was 
viewed  as  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  to  a  single  dis- 
abled man. 

To  show  the  location  of  the  ship  and  to  guide  the 
absentees  to  it  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  a  mortar 
was  first  fired  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  hunters,  and 


112  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

then  every  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  a  rocket  was  sent  up, 
but  with  the  closest  attention  no  one  could  detect  any- 
sound  that  at  all  resembled  a  human  voice.  Nothing 
could  be  heard  save  now  and  then  the  ominous  howl- 
ing of  wolves,  doleful  sounds  to  the  anxious  crew. 

After  two  disquieting  hours  of  signals  by  mortar  and 
rockets,  with  no  responsive  answers  from  the  hunters. 
Captain  M'Clure  sent  out  three  search-parties,  each 
headed  by  an  officer.  Arranging  a  code  of  signals, 
both  for  recall  to  and  for  assistance  from  the  ship,  they 
set  forth  on  an  agreed  plan  in  different  directions,  each 
party  provided  with  rockets,  blue  light,  food,  wraps, 
and  stimulants.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  one 
of  the  searching-parties  met  Sergeant  Woon  coming  to 
the  ship  for  help.  Summoning  another  squad  to  join 
them,  they  hastened  under  the  direction  of  Sergeant 
Woon  to  the  relief  of  Anderson,  who  was  perishing  of 
cold  in  a  snow-drift  a  scant  mile  distant. 

It  appears  that  Anderson,  discovering  a  herd  of  deer, 
had  pursued  and  wounded  one  of  them,  which  fled 
inland  away  from  the  ship.  Following  fast  after  the 
wounded  animal,  without  noting  the  winding  direction 
of  the  trail,  he  at  length  not  only  lost  the  tracks  of  the 
deer  but  also  found  that  the  country  was  being  covered 
by  a  Hght  fog.  Climbing  the  nearest  hill-top,  he  was 
panic-stricken  to  find  himself  unable  to  note  either 
the  face  of  the  bright  southern  sky,  the  hunters'  usual 
method  of  finding  their  bearings,  or  to  see  any  land- 
mark that  was  at  all  famiHar.  He  hurried  from  hill-top 
to  hill-top,  exhausting  his  strength,  confusing  his  mind, 


How  Woon  Won  Promotion  113 

and  destroying  his  faith  in  his  abihty  to  find  his  home- 
ward way.  In  utter  despair  he  sat  down  in  the  snow 
and  gave  himself  up  for  lost. 

Most  fortunately  Sergeant  Woon  had  seen  no  game, 
and  chancing  to  cross  the  trail  of  Anderson  and  of  the 
escaping  deer,  he  decided  to  follow  it  up  and  help  the 
sailor  bring  in  his  game.  With  extreme  astonishment  he 
found  Anderson  in  a  state  of  utter  helplessness,  already 
benumbed  and  certain  soon  to  perish  either  from  wolves 
or  by  freezing.  Cold,  fear,  and  fatigue  had  caused  the 
seaman  to  lose  not  alone  his  power  of  action  and  of  de- 
cision, but  had  almost  deprived  him  of  the  faculty  of 
speech.  He  was  in  such  a  demoraHzed  condition — 
half-deUrious,  frightened,  fatigued,  and  frosted — that 
he  could  not  at  first  fully  realize  that  his  comrade  had 
come  to  his  assistance  and  that  his  ultimate  safety  was 
quite  assured. 

His  utter  prostration  was  only  known  when  Woon 
asked  him  to  get  up  and  go  home,  to  which  he  feebly 
moaned  out,  "I  am  lost,"  and  did  not  rise  even  when 
the  sergeant  curtly  said:  "Get  up  like  a  man  and  you 
are  all  right."  Some  time  passed  before  either  words 
of  cheer  or  sharp  words  of  order  and  abuse  had  any 
eflfect.  His  patience  worn  out  at  last,  Woon  seized  him 
roughl}^,  dragged  him  to  his  feet,  gave  him  a  shove  ship- 
ward,  and  started  him  on  the  home  trail,  but  in  a  few 
minutes  the  bewildered  seaman  fell  down  in  the  deep 
snow  through  which  he  was  walking.  Not  only  was  his 
strength  worn  out  to  exhaustion,  but  to  the  intense 
horror  of  Woon  he  was  no  sooner  put  on  his  feet  than 


114  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

he  fell  down  in  a  convulsive  fit,  while  blood  gushed  freely 
from  his  mouth  and  nostrils. 

The  appalHng  conditions  would  have  shaken  any  man 
less  courageous  than  this  heroic  sergeant.  The}^  were 
many  miles  from  the  Investigator,  the  weather  was  turn- 
ing cold  with  the  vanishing  fog,  and  the  feeble  twilight 
— it  was  now  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon — was 
giving  way  to  coming  darkness.  If  he  went  to  the  ship 
for  aid,  Anderson  would  surely  perish  before  it  could  be 
obtained.  In  the  hours  of  travel  to  and  fro  the  seaman 
would  either  freeze  solidly  or  meet  a  horrible  alterna- 
tive fate  from  the  not-far-distant  wolves,  whose  dismal 
bowlings  already  seemed  a  funeral  dirge  to  their  helpless 
prey. 

The  audacity  and  strength  of  these  starving,  raven- 
ous animals  had  been  a  constant  source  of  anxiety  and 
alarm  to  all  the  hunters.  Especially  had  the  forecastle 
talk  run  on  one  gigantic  brute,  standing  nearly  four  feet 
high  at  the  shoulder,  leaving  a  foot-print  as  big  as  that 
of  a  reindeer,  who  was  thought  to  be  the  recognized 
leader  of  a  marauding  band  from  whose  ravages  no 
slaughtered  game  was  free. 

If  the  seaman  could  not  be  left,  neither  could  he  be 
carried,  for  Anderson  was  one  of  the  largest  and  heaviest 
men  of  the  crew,  while  the  marine  was  one  of  the  small- 
est and  hghtest.  At  last  the  thought  came  to  Woon 
that  he  could  drag  the  seaman  in  to  the  ship.  Not  dar- 
ing, for  fear  of  the  wolves,  to  quit  his  gun,  he  slung  both 
muskets  across  his  shoulders,  and  clasping  Anderson's 
arms  around  his  neck  started  to  drag  him  in  this  manner 


How  Woon  Won  Promotion  115 


through  miles  of  snow  to  the  ship.  Such  a  task  was  of 
the  most  herculean  and  exhausting  character.  The  only 
relief  that  he  had  was  when  the  trail  brought  him  to  the 
top  of  a  hill  or  the  edge  of  a  ravine.  Stopping  and  lay- 
ing Anderson  on  the  snow,  he  rolled  him  down  the  hill- 
side to  the  bottom,  in  this  way  giving  himself  a  rest  and 
at  the  same  time  stirring  the  dormant  blood  and  break- 
ing the  lethargic  sleep  of  the  steadily  freezing  seaman. 
In  fact  this  rough  treatment  was  the  saving  of  Ander- 
son, as  a  fresh  wind  had  sprung  up  with  the  tempera- 
ture fifty-seven  degrees  below  the  freezing-point. 

For  ten  long  hours  this  heroic  sergeant  struggled  on, 
while  the  situation  seemed  more  and  more  critical.  The 
seaman  was  growing  stupider,  while  his  own  strength 
was  decreasing  from  hour  to  hour,  although  his  courage 
was  unfailing  despite  cold,  darkness,  and  snow.  At 
length,  when  within  a  mile  of  the  ship,  he  felt  that  he 
could  not  drag  his  man  a  step  farther.  While  resting 
and  planning  what  next  to  do,  he  saw  a  rocket  shoot  up, 
leaving  its  train  of  welcome  blazing  hght.  Pointing  to 
it,  he  called  on  Anderson  to  stand  up  and  walk  on  as  he 
was  now  safe.  Again  and  again  he  uttered  such  words 
of  cheer,  with  alternate  threats  and  orders,  but  alas! 
without  avail.  The  seaman  only  asked  in  feeble  voice 
**to  be  left  alone  to  die,"  having  reached  that  benumbed 
state  so  dangerous  to  a  freezing  man. 

Seeing  that  he  could  get  him  no  farther,  Woon  laid 
him  down  in  a  drift  of  snow,  covered  him  with  such  of 
his  own  clothing  as  he  felt  he  could  spare,  and  throwing 
quite  a  thick  coating  of  snow  over  him,  so  as  in  a  meas- 


ii6  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

ure  to  protect  him  from  the  awful  cold,  went  ahead  for 
aid,  which  most  happily  proved  to  be  near  at  hand. 

The  precautions  that  the  sergeant  had  taken  on 
leaving  the  man  saved  his  life,  as  a  half-hour's  longer 
exposure  to  the  extreme  cold  would  have  proved  fatal. 
As  it  was,  Anderson  was  brought  to  the  ship  insensible, 
with  his  heart  scarcely  beating,  with  clinched,  frozen 
hands,  rigid  limbs,  glassy  eyes,  and  hard-set  jaws.  He 
lost  parts  of  both  feet,  of  both  hands,  and  of  his  nose  by 
amputation,  but  with  his  robust  constitution  recovered 
his  general  health  and  returned  safely  to  England. 

The  courage  and  devotion  of  Woon  was  recognized 
by  his  promotion  to  be  color-sergeant,  the  highest  grade 
to  which  Captain  M'Clure  could  advance  him.  Wel- 
come as  was  this  increase  of  rank  to  Woon,  it  stood 
second  in  his  mind  to  a  sense  of  the  high  honor  and 
deeper  regard  with  which  he  was  ever  after  held  by  the 
men  of  the  ship.  All  felt  that  to  his  strength  of  will, 
powers  of  endurance,  and  heroic  spirit  of  comradeship 
was  due  the  life  of  the  ship's  favorite,  first  from  death 
by  exhaustion  and  exposure  and  then  from  a  more  hor- 
rible fate  at  the  ravenous  jaws  of  the  greatly  feared 
wolves. 

In  after  time  when,  in  the  midst  of  a  heated  argument 
as  to  service  matters,  some  exultant  marine  would  refer 
to  the  story  of  the  big  seaman  and  the  little  sergeant, 
with  a  modesty  equal  to  his  courage  and  creditable  to 
his  spirit  of  comradeship  Color-Sergeant  Woon  would 
at  once  interrupt  the  speaker  and  change  the  subject 
of  conversation. 


How  Woon  Won  Promotion  117 


Nor  is  Woon's  heroism  an  especially  unusual  episode 
in  the  thrilling  history  of  arctic  service.  In  countless 
and  too-often  unrecorded  cases  not  only  the  officers,  but 
especially  also  the  rank  and  file,  have  practically  and 
gloriously  illustrated  by  personal  heroism  those  splen- 
did qualities  of  uplifted  humanity — fortitude,  loyalty, 
patience,  best  of  all,  solidarity  and  the  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice.  These  unheralded  and  humble  heroes  have  at 
the  call  of  duty,  as  circumstances  required,  done  their 
part  each  in  his  own  way.  Among  these  the  name  of 
Color-Sergeant  Woon  stands  high,  simply  because  his 
rising  to  a  noble  occasion  is  a  matter  of  written  record. 

We  know  not  his  later  career  in  war  or  in  peace,  but 
we  feel  sure  that  as  color-sergeant  he  lived  up  to  the 
ideal  of  an  American  private  when,  as  others  of  his 
caste,  for  the  honor  and  safet}'  of  a  nation — 

"He  shows  in  a  nameless  skirmish 
How  the  color-guard  can  die." 


THE  ANGEKOK   KALUTUNAH   AND 
THE   STARVING  WHITES 


THE  ANGEKOK  KALUTUNAH  AND  THE 
STARVING  WHITES 

"  Every  one  hears  the  voice  of  humanity,  under  whatever 
clime  he  may  be  born,  through  whose  breast  flows  the  gush- 
ing stream  of  life,  pure  and  unrestrained." — Goethe. 

A  S  elsewhere  noted,  Dr.  Elisha  Kent  Kane,  United 
J\  States  Navy,  in  the  brig  j^dvance,  while  in  search 
of  Sir  John  FrankHn,  was  forced  into  winter 
quarters  at  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor,  Greenland,  in  the 
Autumn  of  1853.  As  the  harbor  ice  did  not  break 
up  the  following  summer,  the  question  arose  in 
August,  1854,  as  to  the  proper  line  of  action  to  be 
taken  in  order  to  preserve  the  lives  of  the  crew.  The 
stock  of  fuel  was  practically  exhausted,  the  provisions 
were  so  depleted  in  quantity  and  restricted  in  quality 
as  to  threaten  starvation,  while  in  the  matter  of 
health  Kane  describes  the  crew  as  "a  set  of  scurvy- 
riddled,  broken-down  men."  He  believed,  neverthe- 
less, and  events  proved  that  his  judgment  was  sound 
and  practicable,  that  the  safety  of  the  party  would  be 
best  insured  by  remaining  in  the  brig  during  the 
winter,  saj^ing:  **In  spite  of  the  uncertainty,  a  host 
of  expedients  are  to  be  resorted  to  and  much  Robinson- 
Crusoe  work  ahead.  Moss  was  to  be  gathered  for  eking 
out  our  winter  fuel;  willow-stems,  sorrel,  and  stone-crops 

collected  as  anti-scorbutics  and  buried  in  the  snow." 

121 


122  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

The  Danish  interpreter,  Petersen,  strong!}'  urged  the 
abandonment  of  the  ship  and  an  attempt  to  reach  by 
boats  the  Danish  colony  at  Upernavik,  thus  crossing 
Baffin  Bay.  Though  his  ice  experiences  were  only  as  a 
subordinate  with  Penny's  arctic  expedition,  his  opin- 
ion caused  a  separation  of  the  party. 

With  his  unfailing  quality  of  courtesy  Kane  accorded 
free  action  to  each  individual.  He  called  all  hands 
"  and  explained  to  them  frankly  the  considerations 
that  have  determined  me  to  remain.  I  advised  them 
strenuously  to  forego  the  project,  and  told  them  I 
should  freely  give  my  permission  to  those  desirous  of 
making  the  attempt."  Eight  decided  to  remain  and 
nine  to  make  the  attempt,  among  whom  were  Dr. 
Hayes  and  Petersen.  The  main  incidents  of  their 
unsuccessful  journey  and  their  relations  with  the  Etah 
Eskimo,  whose  material  aid  saved  their  lives,  form  the 
principal  parts  of  this  narrative.* 

The  boat  party,  under  command  of  the  Dane,  J.  C. 
Petersen,  started  August  28,  1854,  provided  with  all 
that  they  could  carry  in  the  way  of  food,  arms,  ammu- 
nition, clothing,  camp  and  boat  gear.  "I  gave  them 
[says  Kane]  their  portion  of  our  resources  justlj',  and 
even  liberally.  They  carried  with  them  a  written  as- 
surance of  a  brother's  welcome  should  they  be  driven 
back;  and  this  assurance  was  redeemed  when  hard 
trials  had  prepared  them  to  share  again  our  fortunes." 

It   required   eight   days   of  heavy   and   unremitting 

*  See  map,  page  95. 


The  Angekok  Kalutunah  123 


labor  to  get  the  boats  and  stores  to  open  water,  a  start 
so  discouraging  that  one  man  deserted  the  party  and 
returned  to  the  Advance.  The  ice  conditions  were  most 
adverse  from  the  very  beginning,  entaihng  sufferings 
and  hazards  from  day  to  day.  Among  their  experi- 
ences were  besetment  in  the  open  pack,  separation  of 
boat  and  cargo  during  portages,  some  of  the  men  adrift 
on  detached  floes,  and  stormy  weather  that  kept  them 
once  for  thirty  hours  without  either  warm  food  or  drink- 
ing water.  With  courage,  even  if  judgment  was  want- 
ing, the}'  pushed  on  and  improved  matters  by  obtaining 
food  and  another  boat  from  the  cache  made  at  Little- 
ton Island  by  Kane  the  preceding  year.  A  gale  nearly 
swamped  them  in  rounding  Cape  Alexander,  south  of 
which  they  were  forced  to  shore  by  the  insetting  ice- 
pack. Ice  and  weather  were  too  much  for  them,  and 
they  eventually  landed  in  Whale  Sound,  twenty  miles 
north  of  Cape  Parry.  They  had  come  to  the  end,  a 
hundred  miles  from  Kane — scarcely  an  eighth  of  their 
proposed  voyage  completed. 

Here  they  were  most  hospitably  received  at  an  Eskimo 
encampment  and  had  their  first  view  of  native  hfe 
in  its  own  environment.  The  principal  man  of  the 
band  was  swarthy-faced  Kalutunah,  the  Angekok,  or 
medicine-man,  of  the  wandering  bands  that  travel  to 
and  fro  along  the  narrow,  ice-free  land  between  Cape 
York  and  Etah.  He  was  one  of  the  Etahs  who  had 
visited  the  Advance  the  preceding  winter  and  so  rec- 
ognized them  as  friends.  In  a  spirit  of  hospitality  the 
Angekok   invited    the   voyagers    to    his    encampment. 


124  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

where  a  feast  of  walrus  blubber  and  meat  would  be 
given  them.  It  appeared,  however,  that  the  natives  as 
a  body  did  not  relish  the  inroads  to  be  made  on  their 
scanty  supply  of  food,  and  one  old  woman  especially 
inveighed  against  the  feast.  In  the  end  the  dark- 
skinned  Kalutunah,  enforcing  his  authority  and  assert- 
ing his  dignity  as  the  Angekok  of  the  tribe,  tersely  and 
firmly  said:  "The  white  man  shall  have  blubber!'* 
which  ended  the  discussion. 

Hayes  records:  *'Our  savage  friends  were  kind  and 
generous.  They  anticipated  every  wish.  Young  women 
filled  our  kettles  with  water.  Kalutunah's  wife  brought 
us  a  steak  of  seal  and  a  dainty  piece  of  liver.  The  hunt 
had  latterl}^  been  unproductive,  and  they  had  not  in  the 
whole  settlement  food  for  three  days.  The  supply  of 
blubber  obtained  was  sufficient  to  fill  our  keg.  We  dis- 
tributed to  them  a  few  small  pieces  of  wood,  a  dozen 
needles,  and  a  couple  of  knives.  We  could  not  obtain 
any  food,  for  the  poor  creatures  had  none  either  to  give 
or  to  barter." 

The  architectural  skill  of  these,  the  most  northerly 
people  of  the  world,  was  not  without  interest  to  Hayes. 
**I  found  the  huts  to  be  in  shape  much  like  an  old- 
fashioned  clay  oven,  square  in  front  and  sloping  back 
into  the  hill.  The  whole  interior  was  about  ten  feet  in 
diameter  and  five  and  a  half  feet  high.  The  walls  were 
made  of  stones,  moss,  and  of  the  bones  of  whale,  nar- 
whal, and  other  animals.  They  were  not  arched,  but 
drawn  in  gradually  and  capped  by  long  slabs  of  slate- 
stone    stretching    from    side   to   side.     The   floor  was 


The  Angekok  Kalutunah  125 

covered  with  flat  stones,  and  the  rear  half  of  it  was  ele- 
vated a  foot.  This  elevation,  called  a  breck,  served  both 
as  bed  and  seat,  being  covered  with  dry  grass  over 
which  were  spread  the  skins  of  bears  and  dogs.  Under 
a  small  corner  breck  lay  a  litter  of  pups*  and  under  an- 
other was  stowed  a  joint  of  meat.  Above  the  passage- 
way opened  a  window,  a  square  sheet  of  dried  intestines, 
neatly  sewed  together.  The  entrance  hole,  close  to  the 
front  wall,  was  covered  with  a  piece  of  seal-skin.  The 
walls  were  lined  with  seal  or  fox  skins  stretched  to  dry. 
In  the  cracks  between  the  stones  of  the  walls  were 
thrust  whip-stocks  and  bone  pegs  on  which  hung  coils 
of  harpoon-lines.  The  lamps  were  made  of  soapstone 
and  in  shape  much  resembled  a  clam-shell,  being  about 
eight  inches  in  diameter.  The  cavity  was  filled  with  oil 
and  on  the  straight  edge  a  flame  was  burning  brill- 
iantly. The  wick  which  supplied  fuel  to  the  flame  was 
of  moss.  Above  the  flame  hung,  suspended  from  the 
roof,  an  oblong,  nearly  square,  cooking-pot  made  of 
soapstone.  Over  this  was  a  rack,  made  of  bear  rib- 
bones  lashed  together  crosswise,  on  which  were  placed 
to  dry  stockings,  mittens,  trousers,  and  other  articles 
of  clothing.  There  w^re  three  lamps,  and  centring 
around  its  own  particular  lamp  were  three  families,  one 
represented  by  three  generations." 

Petersen's  party  went  into  winter  quarters  sixteen 
miles  south  of  Cape  Parrj^,  where  their  equipment  was 

*  In  order  to  raise  the  puppies  and  save  them  from  the  devouring  jaws  of 
the  ravenous,  starving  dogs,  litters  are  kept  in  the  huts,  or  elsewhere  in  a 
protected  place,  until  they  are  large  enough  to  run  about  and  seek  their 
mother's  aid  when  attacked. 


126  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

landed,  the  boats  hauled  up,  and  their  tents  pitched. 
As  the  men  suffered  frightfully  in  the  thin  tents,  a  hut 
was  built  in  a  crevice  of  a  neighboring  cliff.  With  the 
well-known  resourcefulness  of  the  American  sailor,  they 
put  up  quite  a  comfortable  shelter  roofed  with  the  sails 
of  the  boat.  A  canvas-covered  wooden  frame  served  as 
a  door,  and  an  old  muslin  shirt  greased  with  seal  blub- 
ber admitted  a  feeble  light  through  the  hole  called  a 
window. 

Three  weeks  had  now  passed  since  the  party  had  left 
Kalutunah,  and  the  attempt  to  live  on  the  resources  of 
the  country  had  utterly  failed,  the  only  game  killed  by 
the  hunter  Petersen  being  eighteen  ptarmigan  (arctic 
grouse).  With  food  for  a  week  only,  "to  appease  the 
gnawing  pains  of  hunger  we  resorted  to  the  expedient 
of  eating  the  rock-lichen,  which  our  party  called  stone- 
moss.  Black  externally  with  a  white  interior,  it  is  an 
inch  in  diameter  and  the  thickness  of  a  wafer.  When 
boiled  it  makes  a  glutinous  and  slightly  nutritious  fluid. 
Poor  as  w^as  this  plant,  it  at  least  filled  the  stomach  and 
kept  off  the  horrid  sensation  of  hunger  until  we  got  to 
sleep. 

By  the  middle  of  October  the  situation  was  impossi- 
ble, with  the  cold  forty  degrees  below  the  freezing-point, 
their  bedding  damp,  the  stone-moss  disagreeing  with 
some,  and  one  man  sick.  They  talked  of  a  desper- 
ate foot  journey  to  seek  aid  at  Netlik,  the  native 
encampment  forty  miles  to  the  north,  but  food  and 
strength  seemed  equally  lacking.  Even  if  made,  would 
the  journey  be  profitable?     Hayes  had  already  noted 


The  Angekok  Kalutunah  127 

that  the  Eskimos  "were  poor  beyond  description. 
Nature  seems  to  have  suppHed  them  with  nothing  but 
life,  and  they  appear  to  have  wrested  from  the  ani- 
mal world  everything  which  they  possessed.  Clothed 
wholly  in  skins,  with  weapons  fashioned  of  bone,  they 
subsisted  exclusively  on  animal  food.  [He  adds:]  There 
seems  no  hope  for  us  save  in  stone-moss." 

During  an  awful  blizzard,  when  hopes  were  feeblest, 
two  native  hunters  burst  into  the  hut  equally  to  the 
astonishment  and  relief  of  the  boat  party.  Hayes 
says:  "Invested  from  head  to  foot  in  a  coating  of  ice 
and  snow,  shapeless  lumps  of  whiteness,  they  reminded 
me  of  my  boy-made  snow  kings.  Their  long,  heavy 
fox-skin  coats,  surmounted  by  head-hoods,  their  bear- 
skin trousers,  their  seal-skin  boots  and  mittens  were 
saturated  with  snow.  Their  hair,  eyelashes,  and  few 
chin  hairs  were  sparkling  with  white  frost.  Each  car- 
ried in  his  right  hand  a  whip  and  in  his  left  a  lump  of 
frozen  meat  and  blubber.  Throwing  the  meat  on  the 
floor,  they  stripped  off  their  outer  garments  and  hung 
them  on  the  rafters.  Underneath  their  frosty  garments 
they  wore  a  shirt  of  bird-skins.  One  of  these  new- 
comers was  the  Angekok,  the  sturdy,  good-natured,  and 
voluble  Kalutunah.  Soon  we  were  rejoicing  in  a  good 
substantial  meal  at  the  expense  of  our  guests." 

The  next  morning  when  the  Inuits  were  leaving  the 
starving  sledge  dogs  attacked  Hayes,  who  says:  "An 
instant  more  and  I  should  have  been  torn  to  pieces.  I 
had  faced  death  before,  but  never  had  I  felt  as  then; 
m}"-  blood  fairly  curdled  in  my  veins.     Death  down  the 


128  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

red  throats  of  a  pack  of  wolnsh  dogs  was  something 
peculiarly  unpleasant.  .  .  .  The  poor  animals,  howl- 
ing piteously,  had  been  tied  separately  for  th!rt3^-six 
hours  and  were  savagely  hungry.  Every  line  or  piece 
of  skin  or  article  of  food  was  out  of  their  reach.  One, 
however,  had  already  eaten  the  trace  by  which  he  was 
tied." 

Of  the  critical  situation  Hayes  writes:  "We  had 
thirty-six  biscuits  and  three  pints  of  bread-dust.  Each 
man  had  a  biscuit  a  day,  a  quantity  insufficient  for  our 
need.  The  hunt  having  failed  utterly  to  supply  us,  we 
must  get  our  food  of  the  natives  or  not  at  all.  Accord- 
ingly we  made  with  the  Angekok  a  treaty  by  which  his 
people  are  to  furnish  as  much  food  as  we  might  want, 
and  we  are  to  supply  them  with  wood,  iron,  knives,  and 
needles  at  rates  to  be  subsequently  fixed  upon." 

It  was  a  fortnight  before  the  Inuits  again  appeared, 
and  meanwhile  the  whale-boat  was  broken  up  for  fuel. 
All  of  the  party  had  become  frightfully  weak  and  three 
men  v/ere  sick.  Haj^es  piteously  says:  "What  shall  we 
do?  Will  the  Eskimos  never  come?  I  never  go  out 
without  expecting  to  find  a  corpse  when  I  return." 

At  last,  after  two  weeks,  the  natives  returned,  com- 
ing from  a  hunt  with  the  greater  part  of  three  bears. 
While  the  starving  men  "were  fattening  on  the  juicy 
bear's  meat  thej^  left  us,"  yet  there  was  a  key-note  of 
fear  in  the  statement  that  the  natives  "were  very  chary 
of  the  meat,  as  we  obtained  only  enough  to  suffice  us  for 
a  few  days."  Their  gratitude  for  trifles  and  the  will- 
ingness of  the  natives  to  give  their  last  bit  of  food  was 


The  Angekok  Kalutunah  129 

shown  a  few  days  later  by  a  young  Eskimo.  "lie  had 
nothing  on  his  sledge  but  two  small  pieces  of  blubber, 
four  birds,  about  a  pound  of  bear  meat,  a  bear-skin, 
and  a  small  lamp.     All  these  he  laid  at  our  feet." 

Temporarily  saved  from  death  by  starvation  through 
food  from  the  natives,  the  whites  planned  for  the  future. 
There  was  much  wild  talk  about  wintering  at  Cape 
York,  of  hiring  the  natives  to  take  them  across  the  un- 
known ice  of  Baffin  Bay  to  Upernavik.  Finally  it  was 
agreed  that  life  depended  on  their  obtaining  supplies 
from  or  by  their  return  to  Kane  and  the  Advance — 
either  of  these  alternatives  a  difficult  as  well  as  a  bitter 
resort.  The  distance  along  the  ice-foot  of  the  winding 
coast  was  estimated  to  be  about  three  hundred  miles, 
and  it  was  hard  to  admit  that  their  departure  from  the 
brig  against  the  wishes  and  advice  of  their  commander 
had  been  a  serious  mistake.  At  least  they  would  try 
their  friend  Kalutunah  on  their  various  schemes  before 
admitting  their  error. 

The  Angekok  came  with  food,  as  usual,  and  at  the 
same  time  there  was  a  new  visitor,  a  widow  with  a  load 
of  frozen  birds — the  little  auks  killed  the  summer  be- 
fore and  stored  for  winter  consumption.  She  declined 
to  eat  the  walrus  and  held  fast  to  her  own  food.  It  ap- 
peared at  last  that  she  was  a  patient  of  the  medicine- 
man, Kalutunah,  whose  power  over  his  comrades  lay 
in  his  virtues  as  a  sorcerer.  Hayes  says:  "The  widow 
greatly  interested  me.  She  ate  birds  for  conscience' 
sake.  Her  husband's  soul  had  passed  into  the  body  of 
a  walrus  as  a  temporary  habitation,  and  Angekok  Kalu- 


ijo  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

tunah  had  prescribed  that  for  a  certain  period  she  should 
not  eat  the  flesh  of  this  animal.  As  bear  and  seal  were 
scarce,  she  was  compelled  to  fall  back  on  birds.  This 
penance  [he  adds]  was  of  a  kind  which  every  Eskimo 
undergoes  upon  the  death  of  a  near  relation.  The 
Angekok  announces  to  the  mourners  into  what  animal 
the  soul  of  the  departed  has  passed,  and  henceforth, 
until  the  spirit  has  shifted  its  quarters,  they  are  not  to 
partake  of  the  flesh  of  that  animal." 

Tlie  party,  cheered  by  the  food  brought  by  Kalutunah, 
broached  to  him  their  wishes.  He  Hstened  gladly  to 
the  tales  of  the  delight  and  charms  of  Upernavik  sung 
b}^  Petersen,  but  declined  to  attempt  the  ice  journey 
across  Baffin  Ba}^  which  was  known  to  him  only  as 
a  great,  ice-filled  ocean  wherein  had  perished  many  of 
his  tribe,  as  had  lately  the  husband  of  the  bird-eating 
widow.  Neither  would  he  sell  his  dogs,  without  whom 
he  could  neither  travel  nor  hunt.  To  their  surprise  he 
consented  to  take  one  of  the  party  north  to  the  Advance. 
The  commander  of  the  boat-party,  Petersen,  decided  to 
make  the  journey,  and  with  him  a  seaman,  Godfrey, 
was  unwisely  allowed  to  go,  and  the  sledge  was  also 
accompanied  to  the  native  settlement  at  Netlik  by  two 
other  men.  The  Netlik  visit  resulted  in  feasts  for  the 
men  who  stopped  there,  but  Petersen  and  Godfrey 
turned  back  a  few  days  later  to  the  boat  camp.  They 
said  that  they  were  in  fear  of  their  lives  from  an  Eskimo, 
Sip-su,  with  whom  they  had  trouble.  Hayes  records  the 
despair  of  the  party  at  this  situation,  saying:  "We  are 
at  the  end  of  our  plans  and  in  two  days  more  shall  be 


The  Angekok  Kalutunah  131 

at  the  end  of  our  provisions.  We  are  destitute — help- 
less.    What  shall  we  do?" 

The  day  that  food  failed  he  rejoices  thus:  "Again  the 
Eskimos  appear  to  us  more  as  our  good  angels  than  as 
our  enemies.  Kalutunah  and  another  hunter  came  to 
us  to-day  and  threw  at  our  feet  a  large  piece  of  walrus 
beef  and  a  piece  of  liver."  Doubtless  through  the 
friendly  influence  of  the  Angekok  other  hunters  came 
to  the  starving  whites  from  time  to  time  with  meat — 
even  the  dreaded  bully,  Sip-su — receiving  in  payment 
bits  of  wood  or  of  iron. 

It  was  none  the  less  clear  that  the  party,  unable  to 
hunt  itself,  could  not  hope  to  live  through  the  winter  on 
meat  from  the  natives  who  at  times  were  themselves 
on  the  verge  of  starvation.  It  was  decided  to  obtain  a 
sledge  and  dogs  wherewith  to  make  the  journe}^  back 
to  the  brig. 

To  build  a  sledge  Hayes  examined  those  of  the  Inuits 
of  which  he  says:  'Tt  was  the  most  ingeniousl}'  con- 
trived specimen  of  the  mechanic  art  that  I  have  ever 
seen,  made  wholly  of  bone  and  leather.  The  runners, 
square  behind  and  rounded  upward  in  front,  about  five 
feet  long,  were  slabs  of  bone;  not  soHd,  but  composed  of 
pieces  of  various  shapes  and  sizes  cunningly  fitted  and 
tightly  lashed  together.  Near  their  margins  w^ere  rows 
of  little  holes,  through  which  were  run  strings  cf  seal- 
skin, by  which  the  blocks  were  fastened  together,  mak- 
ing a  slab  almost  as  firm  as  a  board.  These  bones  w^ere 
flattened  and  ground — a  work  of  months  for  a  single 
runner — into  the  required  shape  with  stones. 


132  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

*'The  runners  were  shod  with  ivory  from  the  tusk  of 
the  walrus,  ground  flat  and  its  corners  squared  with 
stones;  it  was  fastened  to  the  runner  by  a  seal-skin 
string  which  was  looped  through  two  counter-sunk 
holes.  This  sole,  though  composed  of  a  number  of 
pieces,  was  uniform  and  as  smooth  as  glass. 

"The  runners,  fourteen  inches  apart,  were  fastened 
together  by  bones  tightly  lashed.  These  cross-bars 
were  the  femur  of  the  bear,  the  antlers  of  the  reindeer, 
and  the  ribs  of  the  narwhal.  Two  walrus  ribs  were 
lashed,  one  to  the  after-end  of  each  runner,  for  up- 
standers,  and  were  braced  by  a  piece  of  reindeer  antler 
secured  across  the  top." 

Quite  hopeless  of  building  anything  that  should  be  as 
good  as  this,  they  succeeded  in  making  an  indifferent 
sled  from  the  remains  of  their  boats,  which  had  been 
broken  up  and  largely  used  for  fuel.  Four  dogs  were 
bought,  but  a  single  day's  journey  showed  how  impos- 
sible it  was  to  hope  to  reach  Kane  with  such  a  wretched 
field  outfit.  They  must  resort  to  the  natives,  and  es- 
pecially to  Kalutunah  the  Angekok. 

After  endless  efforts  the  boat  party  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining dog  teams  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  make  the 
return  journey  to  the  Advance.  As  Petersen  had  gone 
ahead  with  one  man,  it  left  Hayes  to  conduct  to  the 
ship  the  other  men,  one  being  too  sick  to  travel.  It  was 
a  journey  full  of  suffering  from  the  extreme  cold,  of 
danger  especially  in  rounding  the  precipitous  cliffs  of 
Cape  Alexander,  where  the  strong  sea  current  from 
the  north  and  the  tides  from  the  south  cause  danger 


The  Angekok  Kalutunah  133 

spots  that  often  bring  death  to  the  midwinter  sledge- 
men. 

Of  their  treatment  while  travelling  up  the  coast  one 
instance  is  given  by  Hayes :  "  We  received  all  manner  of 
kind  attentions  from  our  hosts.  The  women  pulled  off 
our  boots,  mittens,  coats,  and  stockings  and  hung  them 
up  to  dry.  My  beard  was  frozen  fast  to  the  fur  of  my 
coat,  and  it  was  the  warm  hand  of  Kalutunah's  wife 
that  thawed  away  the  ice.  Meats  of  different  kinds 
were  brought  in  and  offered  to  us." 

Of  the  passage  around  the  cape  Hayes  records: 
"For  the  space  of  several  feet  the  ice-foot  was  not  more 
than  fifteen  inches  wide,  and  sloping,  A  halt  was  called 
and  men  and  dogs  crouched  behind  the  rocks  for  shelter. 
The  furious  wind,  still  lashing  the  waves  against  the 
frozen  shore  at  our  feet,  whirled  great  sheets  of  snow 
down  upon  us  from  the  overhanging  cliffs.  We  could 
not  face  the  pitiless  storm  at  our  backs,  and  to  go  for- 
ward seemed  impossible.  Discarding  my  mittens  and 
clinging  with  my  bare  hands  to  the  crevices  in  the  rock, 
I  moved  cautiously  along  the  sloping  shelf.  Below  the 
breaking  surf  yawned  to  receive  any  victim  who  made 
an  inadvertent  step.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  joy  and 
thankfulness  with  which  I  found  myself  upon  the  broad 
ice-belt  at  the  farther  side  of  this  dangerous  place.  The 
dogs  were  driven  forward  by  their  native  masters  and, 
seized  by  the  collars,  were  dragged  around  the  point. 
The  sledges  were  pushed  along  the  shelf  and  turned  on 
one  runner  and  held  until  the  dogs  could  stretch  their 
traces  and,   bounding   forward,   at   the   word   whirled 


134  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

them  around  in  safety  before  they  could  topple  over 
the  precipice." 

Finally  Van  Rensselaer  Harbor  was  reached,  and 
the  returning  wanderers,  blinded,  frost-bitten,  and  ex- 
hausted, staggered  on  to  the  deck  of  the  Advance. 
With  his  generous  heart  their  old  commander  Kane 
received  them  with  open  arms  and  brotherly  greetings. 

One  cannot  but  class  as  astounding  these  human 
experiences,  which  marked  the  first  extended  relations 
betvv'een  the  men  of  Etah  and  the  adventurous  explorers 
who  had  come  from  the  outside  world.  In  this  in- 
stance there  had  been  brought  face  to  face  the  hitherto 
unknown  men  of  the  stone  age  and  the  representatives 
of  the  high  and  vaunted  civilization  that  aims  to  up- 
lift and  to  dominate  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

On  the  one  hand  were  the  Etahs,  who  were  actual 
children  of  the  stone  age — clothed  in  skins,  without 
wood  or  metal,  having  neither  houses  nor  boats,  using 
stone  utensils  in  their  rude  huts  of  skin  or  of  rock, 
and  living  solely  by  the  hunt.  Following  the  chase 
with  weapons  of  bone,  through  untold  hardships  they 
wrested,  day  by  day,  precarious  food  from  their  home 
environment — a  habitat  on  one  of  the  most  desolate 
reaches  of  the  arctic  coasts.  Their  struggles  for  mere 
existence  under  these  harsh  conditions  of  uncertainty 
w^ere  such  as — either  among  the  men  of  the  stone  age 
or  in  the  imperial  cities  of  to-day — engender  intense 
selfishness  and  lead  to  deadly  contests  in  order  to  save 
the  strong  at  the  expense  of  the  weak. 

On  the  other  hand  were  the  men  of  the  civilized  world, 


The  Angekok  Kalutunah  135 

provided  with  boats,  furnished  with  selected  food,  espe- 
cially equipped  for  polar  service,  and  armed  with  the 
best  weapons.  Engaged  in  the  mission  of  reheving  the 
men  of  FrankHn's  missing  squadron,  with  their  superior 
knowledge  and  their  trained  minds,  they  were  supposed 
to  be  able  not  only  to  be  self-reliant  and  self-sustain- 
ing, but  also  to  extend  aid  to  the  needy. 

Through  the  irony  of  fickle  fortune  the  civilized  men 
had  found  themselves  unable  to  maintain  life  by  the 
chase  of  the  land  and  sea  game  of  the  region.  In  dire 
distress,  with  failing  food,  they  faced  certain  death  un- 
less aid  should  come  from  outside  sources. 

To  the  savage  and  famine-threatened  men  of  Etah 
the  appalling  condition  of  their  alien  visitors  was 
clearly  evident.  Moreover,  if  the  helpless  white  men 
were  simply  left  to  themselves  they  must  soon  perish, 
leaving  for  the  Inuits  untold  wealth  of  hitherto  un- 
known treasures, — of  iron  and  wood,  of  cloth  and  cord- 
age, of  robes  and  of  weapons. 

In  this  fearful  crisis,  amid  arctic  cold  and  in  polar 
darkness,  savage  humanity  rose  to  heroic  heights.  Self- 
ishness and  covetousness  stood  abashed  among  these 
children  of  the  stone  age,  and  in  their  stead  were  awa- 
kened holy  feelings  of  human  pity  and  a  spirit  of  self- 
denying  charity. 

Their  deeds  show  that  in  the  white  north  as  in  the 
sunny  south  there  abide  the  true  spirit  of  brotherly 
love  and  a  recognized  sense  of  human  interdependence. 
After  the  Etah  manner,  there  recurred  the  episode  of 
the  Samaritan  charity  of  ancient  Judea.     Yet  the  ac- 


136  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

tion  of  the  Inuit  even  surpassed  the  deed  of  the  good 
man  of  Palestine,  for  Etah  aid  was  not  the  outcome  of 
a  rich  man's  loving  generosity  to  a  penniless  sufferer, 
but  it  also  paralleled  the  widow's  mite,  for  Kalutunah, 
the  savage  sorcerer,  and  his  tribesmen  gave  the  sole 
food  of  to-morrow  for  their  wives  and  children  to  save 
from  death  the  rich  and  alien  white  men  of  the  un- 
known south.  Does  heroism  rise  to  nobler  deeds  in 
the  midst  of  our  superior  civilization  and  higher  de- 
velopment? 


DR.  RAE  AND  THE  FRANKLIN 
MYSTERY 


DR.   RAE  AND  THE   FRANKLIN  MYSTERY 

"An  age  which  passes  over  in  silence  the  merits  of  the 
heroic  deserves  as  a  punishment  that  it  should  not  bring 
forth  such  an  one  in  its  midst." — Forster. 

IN  1845  Captain  John  Franklin,  royal  navy,  in  com- 
mand of  the  ships  Erebus  and  Terror,  sailed  with 
one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  souls  to  make  the 
northwest  passage.  His  orders  carried  him  via  Lan- 
caster Sound  and  Cape  Walker,  and  he  was  provisioned 
for  three  years.  The  ships  w^ere  last  seen  by  civiUzed 
men  in  Baffin  Bay,  whence  they  passed  from  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  world.  In  1847  great  anxiety  prevailed  as 
to  the  fate  of  the  expedition,  and  fears  of  its  loss  grew 
stronger  from  year  to  year.  More  than  a  score  of  ships, 
with  crews  of  nearly  two  thousand  men,  at  an  expense 
of  millions  of  dollars  vainly  sought,  between  1847  and 
1853,  news  of  the  missing  squadron,  and  the  British 
ParHament  offered  a  reward  of  ten  thousand  pounds 
sterling  for  the  first  accredited  information  regarding 
the  lost  explorers. 

The  Franklin  mystery  was  solved  through  the  labors 
of  Dr.  John  Rae,  a  Scotch  surgeon  in  the  employ 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  whose  marvellous  en- 
durance and  restless  energy  are  evident  from  the  state- 
ment that  in  his  various  journeys  of  exploration  he 
walked  more  than  twenty  thousand  miles.     The  con- 


140  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


ditions  under  which  Rae  gained  information  as  to  the 
fate  of  FrankUn  are  herein  set  forth. 

Twice  before  had  Rae  been  engaged  in  the  Franklin 
search,  in  1848-50  with  Sir  John  Richardson,  and  later 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  In 
these  combined  journeys  of  five  thousand  three  hundred 
and  eighty  miles  he  had  explored  much  of  Wollaston 
and  Victoria  Lands,  from  Fort  Confidence  as  a  base. 
The  doctor  then  found  at  Parker  Bay  the  butt  of  a 
flag-staff,  which  from  its  tack  and  line,  bearing  the  spe- 
cial mark  of  the  royal  navy,  had  evidently  belonged  to 
one  of  Franklin's  ships.  Now,  in  1853,  he  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  Hudson  Bay  Company's  party  to  complete 
the  exploration  of  Boothia  Peninsula. 

Leaving  Chesterfield  Inlet  by  boat,  Rae  was  en  route 
to  Repulse  Bay,  his  intended  head-quarters,  when  he 
fell  in  with  a  herd  of  walruses,  from  which,  in  spite  of 
his  terrified  crew,  who  feared  these  sea-monsters,  he 
obtained  an  enormous  animal  that  furnished  enough 
blubber  for  his  cooking-lamps  throughout  the  winter. 
That  Rae's  walrus  hunt  was  not  without  danger  was 
evident  from  the  experiences  of  four  Eskimos  off  this 
very  coast  on  Rae's  previous  visit.  The  natives  lashed 
together  their  four  kayaks,  and  while  in  pursuit  of 
walruses  were  attacked  by  a  ferocious  male.  Striking 
down  the  first  kayak  with  his  enormous  tusks,  the  in- 
furiated animal  ploughed  through  the  miniature  fleet, 
capsizing  and  breaking  up  the  four  tiny  crafts  and 
drowning  the  unfortunate  hunters. 


Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery       141 


It  was  the  middle  of  August  when  Rae  pitched  his 
tents  on  the  barren  shores  of  Repulse  Bay,  where  the 
outlook  for  food  and  comfort  were  not  promising — the 


90*  W 


/         \S0UTHAMP>«M 


Boothia  and  Melville  Peninsulas. 

shore  being  free  from  Eskimo  hunters,  whose  absence 
indicated  that  the  migratory  game  was  pasturing  in- 
land that  year.  Summer  was  rapidly  passing,  yet  thick 
masses  of  old  ice  clung  to  the  shore  and  immense  drifts 
of  snow  still  filled  the  ravines. 

The  party  had  food  and  fuel  for  three  months  only. 


142  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

while  the  work  in  hand  meant  a  sta}'  of  nine  months. 
The  doctor  began  to  collect  supplies  systematically,  and 
knew  how  to  work  to  the  best  advantage  as  he  had  once 
wintered  at  Repulse  Bay.  One  party  spread  fish-nets 
at  the  best  places  along  the  shore,  the  second  took  the 
field  for  deer  and  other  large  game,  while  the  last  busied 
itself  in  gathering  fuel  for  the  winter.  Rae  had  earlier 
found  that  bunches  of  the  arctic  saxifrage  made  excel- 
lent fuel  when  dried,  and  as  there  were  neither  trees  nor 
shrubs  the  hills  and  valleys  vvere  scoured  for  this  useful 
plant. 

With  true  Scottish  pertinacity-,  R.ae  set  the  pace  for 
his  men  and  then  outdid  them  all  in  turn.  Supplement- 
ing the  mental  training  of  the  Caucasian  by  extended 
experiences  in  the  hunting-field  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
region,  he  astonished  and  discomfited  his  men  through 
astounding  success  in  the  pursuit  of  game.  In  knowl- 
edge of  woodcraft,  in  keenness  of  vision,  in  keeping 
the  trail,  in  patient  waiting,  and  in  hunter's  wiles  he 
was  without  equal  among  his  men.  The  Indian  deer- 
hunter,  Mistegan,  had  come  north  especially  selected  to 
kill  game  for  the  party.  When  the  Indian  kept  the 
field  for  ten  hours  and  brought  in  a  deer,  Rae  kept  it  for 
twelve  hours  and  killed  two  or  three  animals.  Pushed 
b}'  his  white  rival,  Mistegan  did  his  best  and  shot 
tvventy-one  deer  in  six  weeks,  while  Rae  had  to  his 
credit  forty-nine  head — the  whole  party  of  eight  killing 
only  one  hundred  and  nine. 

To  the  am.azement  of  all,  after  a  long  absence  roam- 
ing over  the  far-distant  hills  to  the  west,  Rae  brought 


Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery       143 

word  that  he  had  slain  a  musk-ox — the  sole  wanderer 
that  year  from  the  herds  of  the  barren  grounds  to  the 
southwest. 

The  wearther  became  bitter  cold,  with  the  temperature 
down  to  zero,  and  sea-fishing  then  failed.  Rae  turned 
his  efforts  to  the  newly  frozen  lakes,  where  the  hooks 
and  nets,  skilfully  set;  jnelded  two  or  three  salmon  or 
lake  trout  daily— no  mean  addition  to  their  larder  for 
men  who  were  living  on  the  game  of  the  countr}^. 

October  was  a  dismal  period  with  its  shortening  daj's, 
its  gloomy  skies,  and  high  winds,  which  with  zero  tem- 
peratures blew  piercingly  through  the  wretchedly  thin 
tents.  Life  in  daylight  was  only  endurable  when  men 
were  on  the  trail  or  hunt.  But  now  the  wise  old  mon- 
archs  of  the  herds  were  turning  their  heads  southward 
in  their  annual  migration,  and  only  twenty-five  deer 
were  killed  during  the  month. 

However,  the  bitter  wind  did  good  and  needful  work, 
for  in  time  it  packed  into  marble-like  drifts  the  autum- 
nal snows.  This  gave  work  for  native  snow-knife  and 
deft  hands,  which  soon  erected  two  large  snow  houses, 
on  the  southerly  side  of  Beacon  Hill,  where  they  were 
well  sheltered  from  the  prevailing  northwesterly  gales. 

With  Indian  inclinations  to  idleness,  some  of  the  men 
looked  forward  eagerl}^  to  the  completion  of  the  snow 
houses.  They  were  viewed  as  comfortable  places  for 
the  long  winter,  where  the  cheerful  pipe,  with  tales  of 
the  trail  and  ample  food,  should  make  content  the  trap- 
per's heart  and  body.  Rae  had  no  such  notion,  for  he 
had  lived  too  long  with  natives  and  with  half-breeds  not 


144  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

to  know  that  daily  work  was  needful  not  only  for  the 
health,  but  even  more  for  the  morale  and  efficiency  of 
his  men. 

Finding  that  the  fish-nets  of  the  lake  were  much  cut 
up  by  a  small,  shrimp-like  water  insect,  the  favorite 
food  of  the  salmon,  he  transferred  them  to  the  rapids 
of  North  Pole  River,  which  kept  open  nearly  all  winter. 
Some  of  the  men  made  the  six-mile  tramp  across  the 
rough  countr}^  to  daily  drag  the  nets,  while  the  rest 
kept  the  field  where  an  occasional  fox,  wolf,  partridge, 
or  wolverine  rewarded  their  efforts. 

After  a  time  there  was  much  grumbling  at  days  of 
fruitless  hunting.  Rae  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and 
he  set  the  discontented  hunters  at  work  scraping  under 
the  snow  for  saxifrage,  their  sole  supply  of  fuel.  To 
complaints  he  tersely  said:  "No  saxifrage,  no  tea." 
Only  men  familiar  with  the  white  north  know  what  a 
deprivation  it  would  have  been  to  these  half-breeds  to 
give  up  the  hot  tea,  which  they  daily  look  forward  to 
with  intense  longing  and  drink  with  deep  satisfaction. 

With  midwinter  past  and  the  sun  returned,  Rae  wel- 
comed with  relief  the  first  sign  of  the  far-distant  but 
longed-for  arctic  spring.  Of  course,  with  lengthening 
days  came  strengthening  cold,  and  there  were  weeks 
during  which  the  mercury  was  frozen — the  true  arctic 
days  of  no  wind,  of  bright  skies,  and  of  beautiful  colors 
in  air  and  on  ice. 

One  day  the  youngest  of  the  Indians  burst  into  the 
snow  house,  crying  out  in  great  terror  that  the  clouds 
were  on  fire.     While  the  older  men  rushed  out  instantly, 


Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery       145 


the  phlegmatic  Scot  followed  at  leisure.  It  proved  to  be 
an  offshoot  of  one  of  the  brilliant  sun-dogs  which  so 
wondrously  beautify  the  arctic  heavens,  especially  in 
the  early  spring  or  late  winter.  These  sun-dogs,  or 
mock-suns,  arise  from  refraction  and  reflection  of  the 
solar  rays  of  light  from  the  ice  particles  that  are  sus- 
pended in  the  air,  and  are  usually  at  twenty-two  or 
forty-five  degrees  distant  from  the  sun  itself. 

On  this  occasion  the  sun-dogs  had  formed  behind  a 
thin,  transparent  cirrus  cloud  which  greatly  extended 
the  area  of  the  sun-dog  besides  adding  very  greatly 
to  its  already  vivid  colors.  Rae  tells  us  that  "three 
fringes  of  pink  and  green  followed  the  outlines  of  the 
cloud. "  The  alarm  and  mistake  of  the  young  novice  in 
sun-dogs  and  solar  halos  were  sources  of  gibes  and  fun 
among  his  chaffing  comrades  for  many  days. 

Rae  now  began  his  preparations  for  field  work.  A 
snow  hut  was  put  up  for  the  use  of  the  carpenter,  who 
was  soon  busy  overhauling  the  sledge  gear.  The  Hud- 
son Bay  sledges  were  carefully  taken  apart,  scraped, 
polished,  reduced  in  weight  as  far  as  was  safe,  and  then 
put  together  with  the  utmost  care  so  that  the  chance  of 
a  break-down  in  the  field  should  be  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum. The  trade  articles  for  use  with  the  Eskimos  were 
gone  over  and  so  arranged  as  to  give  the  greatest  vari- 
ety for  use  in  the  field  with  the  least  weight.  Every- 
thing was  to  be  hauled  by  man-power  and  the  weights 
must  be  as  small  as  possible.  Beads,  files,  knives, 
thimbles,  fish-hooks,  needles,  and  chisels  were  thought 
tp  be  the  best  suited  to  native  needs   and  tastes. 


146  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Meanwhile,  Rae  was  disturbed  that  no  signs  of  Eski- 
mos had  been  found  in  their  local  field  journeys.  He 
feared  that  their  absence  might  mean  that  there  had 
been  a  change  of  route  on  the  part  of  the  reindeer  in 
their  migratory  paths,  for  in  that  region  no  game  meant 
no  inhabitants.  Several  efforts  to  locate  natives  near  the 
fishing-points  were  made  without  success.  The  doctor 
then  put  into  the  field  two  of  his  best  men,  Thomas 
Mistegan,  the  deer-hunter,  "a  trusty,  pushing  fellow," 
as  we  are  told,  and  WilHam  Ouglibuck,  the  Eskimo 
interpreter  of  the  party.  Their  journey  of  several  days 
to  Ross  Bay  showed  that  the  country  was  bare  of  na- 
tives, but  here  and  there  were  seen  a  number  of  deer 
migrating  to  the  north,  and  of  these  a  few  were  shot. 
This  journey  was  most  disappointing  in  its  results  for 
Rae  had  hoped  to  find  Eskimos  from  whom  he  could 
buy  a  few  dogs  for  sledge  work. 

Rae  did  not  spare  himself,  for  starting  in  bitterly 
cold  weather  he  laid  down  an  advance  depot  which  was 
hauled  on  Hudson  Bay  sledges  a  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  miles.  At  Cape  Pelly  stores  were 
cached  under  large  stones,  secure,  as  he  said,  from  any 
animal  except  man  or  bear.  Long  experience  had  made 
him  familiar  with  the  enormous  strength  and  destruc- 
tive powers  of  the  polar  bear.  Dr.  Kane,  it  will  be 
recalled,  tells  of  the  utter  ruin  of  one  of  his  best-built 
cairns,  which  he  thought  to  be  animal-proof.  Yet 
the  bears  tore  it  down  and  scattered  its  heaviest  pack- 
ages in  all  directions. 

The  long  and  final  trip  to  the  north  began  on  the 


Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery       147 


last  day  of  March,  the  four  sledgemen  hauling  each  a 
heavily  laden  sledge.  The  field  ration  was  almost  en- 
tirely pemmican,  two  pounds  per  day,  with  a  few  bis- 
cuit and  the  indispensable  tea.  The  trip  began  with 
misfortunes,  one  man  proving  so  weak  in  the  traces  that 
Rae  had  to  replace  him  by  the  Cree  Indian,  Mistegan, 
an  experienced  sledge-hauler  of  unusual  activity. 

The  route  lay  overland  almost  directly  north,  to 
Pelly  Ba}'  across  a  broken,  desolate  country.  Violent 
blizzards  and  knee-deep  snow  made  travel  painful 
enough,  but  under  Rae's  exacting  leadership  the  hard- 
ships became  extreme.  Each  sledge  with  its  load  ap- 
proached two  hundred  pounds,  an  awful  drag,  which 
could  be  made  only  by  men  of  iron  frame  and  great 
endurance,  especially  when  making  some  twenty  miles 
per  day — Rae's  standard  of  travel.  The  day's  march 
ended,  then  came  the  tedious  labor  of  building  a  snow 
igloo,  wherein  at  least  they  were  able  to  sleep  with 
warmth  and  comfort.  While  hut-building  was  in  prog- 
ress the  doctor  faithfully  made  sextant  observations 
for  latitude  or  longitude,  determined  the  local  variation 
of  the  compass,  and  observed  the  temperature — in  short, 
did  more  than  an}^  other  man  of  the  party. 

Day  after  day  the}^  marched  on  over  a  land  of 
desolation  and  abandonment.  Neither  bird  nor  man 
nor  beast  was  to  be  seen,  despite  the  keen  eyes  of  the 
Cree  hunter,  of  whom  Rae  commendingly  remarked: 
"Custom  had  caused  him  to  notice  indications  and 
marks  which  would  have  escaped  the  observation  of  a 
person   less   acute   and   experienced."     In   this   smgle 


148  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

particular,  of  picking  up  and  following  a  trail,  was  the 
remarkable  Scottish  leader  surpassed  by  any  of  his 
Indian  hunters  or  Canadian  trappers. 

Nearly  three  weeks  of  monotonous,  heart-breaking 
travel  had  thus  passed,  and  they  reached  the  shores  of 
Pelly  Bay.  Scouring  the  country  near  the  camp  as 
usual,  the  trail-hunting  Cree,  Mistegan,  threw  up  his 
hands  with  the  welcome  message  of  things  seen,  which 
brought  Rae  to  his  side.  There,  clear  to  the  Indian  but 
almost  illegible  to  any  other,  a  few  faint  scratches  on 
the  surface  of  the  ice  told  that  days  before  there  had 
passed  a  dog-drawn  sledge. 

Making  camp,  Rae  began  work  on  his  observations, 
at  the  same  time  setting  two  men  at  gathering  saxi- 
frage for  fuel,  and  putting  on  the  sledge  trail  Eskimo 
Ouglibuck  and  fleet-footed  Mistegan.  That  night  Rae 
was  happy  to  see  flying  across  the  bay  ice  several  dog- 
sledges  with  triumphant  Mistegan  in  the  lead. 

There  were  seventeen  Inuit  hunters,  twelve  men  and 
five  women.  Although  several  of  them  had  met  Rae  at 
Repulse  Bay  in  1846-7,  the  greater  number  were  push- 
ing and  troublesome,  having  a  certain  contempt  for  men 
of  pale  faces  who  were  so  poor  that  they  were  without 
even  a  single  dog  and  had  to  haul  their  sledges  them- 
selves. After  some  talk  they  were  ready  to  sell  the  seal 
meat  with  which  their  sledges  were  loaded,  but  would 
not,  despite  liberal  promises  of  needles,  agree  to  hire  out 
their  dogs  to  go  westward  across  land,  as  Rae  desired 
them  to  do  in  order  that  he  might  survey  the  west 
coast — his  sole  object  on  this  journey.     Although  Rae 


Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery       149 

spoke  of  the  deHghts  of  chasing  musk-oxen,  they  pre- 
ferred their  seal-hunting  grounds  which  they  had  just 
visited  with  success. 

Rae  tells  us  of  a  favorite  method  of  seal-hunting 
followed  by  these  Eskimos  in  which  many  of  the  native 
women  are  very  expert.  On  bright  days  the  seals, 
crawling  from  their  air-holes,  delight  to  bask  in  the  sun 
and  indulge  in  little  cat-naps  or  siestas.  Dozing  a  half- 
minute,  the  seal  awakes  with  alarm,  and  after  quickly 
looking  in  all  directions  falls  asleep,  with  constant  rep- 
etitions of  naps  and  starts.  When  a  seal  is  thus  en- 
gaged the  hunter,  clad  in  seal-skin  garments,  endeavors 
to  make  his  way  between  the  seal  and  the  air-hole, 
a  process  demanding  endless  patience  and  inv^olving 
much  fatigue.  The  hunter  lies  either  on  his  face  or 
side,  and  makes  his  advances  while  the  animal  dozes 
or  is  looking  elsewhere.  If  obliged  to  move  while  the 
seal  is  awake,  the  native  makes  his  advances  by  a  series 
of  awkward  motions  Hke  those  of  a  seal  making  its 
way  over  the  ice.  A  skilful  hunter  sometimes  gets 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  animal  without  arousing  its 
fears,  and  an  on-looker  would  at  a  distance  be  unable 
to  say  which  figure  was  the  seal  and  which  the  man. 
Seals  are  unusually  curious,  and  at  times  one  comes 
forward  with  friendly  air  to  meet  its  supposed  fellow. 
When  in  the  desired  position  the  hunter  springs  up  and, 
running  to  the  air-hole,  attacks  the  animal  as  he  tries  to 
escape.  Seals  are  thus  captured  even  without  a  spear 
or  other  weapon,  a  blow  on  the  nose  from  a  club  killing 
them. 


150  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

The  active  and  numerous  body  of  Eskimo  visitors  were 
too  meddlesome  for  Scotch  patience,  and  Rae  finally 
sent  them  away,  not,  however,  before  they  had  stolen, 
as  it  was  later  learned,  a  few  pounds  of  biscuit  and  a 
large  lump  of  fuel-grease. 

Rae  was  now  almost  directly  to  the  east  of  the  mag- 
netic north  pole,  the  north-seeking  end  of  his  compass 
pointing  eight  degrees  to  the  south  of  due  zvest.  Break- 
ing camp,  he  turned  toward  the  magnetic  pole.  Having 
a  heavy  load,  he  decided  to  cache  his  surplus  supplies 
until  his  return,  but  did  not  dare  to  do  so  near  the 
Eskimos.  The  cache  was  made  on  a  rock}-  hill  several 
miles  inland,  and  it  took  some  time  to  make  it  secure 
from  animals  and  free  from  observation  by  travellers. 
The  cache  made,  Rae  was  astonished  and  angry  to 
find  that  the  Eskimo  interpreter,  Ouglibuck,  was  gone. 
Rae  never  thought  of  desertion,  but  keen-eyed  Mistegan 
caught  sight  of  the  Inuit  fleeing  to  the  eastward  to- 
ward the  camp  of  his  native  cousins.  As  the  speediest 
of  the  party,  the  doctor  and  the  Cree  started  after 
him,  taking  that  slow  dog-trot  with  which  the  Indian 
runners  cover  so  much  ground  untiringly.  It  was  a 
sharp  run  of  five  miles  before  the  deserter  was  over- 
taken. 

Rae  says:  "Ouglibuck  was  in  a  great  fright  when 
we  came  up  with  him,  and  was  crying  like  a  child,  but 
expressed  his  readiness  to  return,  and  pleaded  sickness 
as  an  excuse." 

The  doctor  thought  it  best  to  diplomatically  accept 
the  statement  that  the  deserter  was  sick,  but  none  the 


Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery       151 

less  he  deemed  it  wise  to  decrease  the  load  hauled  by 
the  Eskimo,  doing  so  at  the  expense  of  the  half-breeds. 
But  it  was  quite  clear  that  Ouglibuck  was  more  than 
willing  to  exchange  his  conditions  of  hard  field  work 
with  scant  food  for  the  abundant  seal  meat  and  the 
social  company  of  his  own  people,  which  had  proved 
so  enjoyable  during  his  brief  visit  to  their  igloos. 

This  prompt  action  of  Rae's  tided  over  the  critical 
phase  of  the  expedition,  and  the  temporary  delay  in- 
directly brought  about  the  meeting  with  other  natives, 
from  whom  came  the  first  news  of  the  missing  ex- 
plorers. Immediately  after  renewing  his  western  jour- 
ney, Rae  met  a  native  who  had  killed  a  musk-ox  and 
was  returning  home  with  his  dog-sledge  laden  with 
meat.  Ouglibuck  made  his  best  efforts  to  reinstate 
himself  in  the  good  graces  of  Rae  by  persuading  the 
Inuit  stranger  to  make  a  journey  of  two  days  to  the 
westward,  thus  lightening  the  loads  of  the  other  sledges. 
Another  Eskimo  then  joined  Rae,  anxious  to  see  the 
white  men  of  whom  he  had  heard  from  the  visitors  of 
the  day  previous. 

The  doctor  asked  his  usual  question,  as  a  matter  of 
form,  as  to  the  Eskimo  having  seen  before  any  white 
men  or  any  ships,  to  which  he  answered  in  the  negative. 
On  further  questioning  he  said  that  he  had  heard  of  a 
party  of  kahloonans  (white  men),  who  had  died  of 
starvation  a  long  distance  to  the  west. 

Realizing  the  full  importance  of  this  startling  and 
unexpected  information.  Dr.  Rae  followed  up  this  clew 
with  the  utmost  energy,  both  through   visits    to   and 


152  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

by  questionings  of  all  Eskimos  he  could  find.  He  also 
extended  his  field  efforts,  during  which  cairns  were 
searched  and  the  adjoining  region  travelled  over  as  far 
as  Beecher  River,  about  69  N.  92  W.  His  original 
work  of  surveying  was  now  made  incidental  to  a  search 
for  Franklin! 

Nor  must  it  be  thought  that  these  journeys  were 
made  without  considerable  danger  and  much  physical 
suffering.  A  half-breed,  through  neglect  of  Rae's  orders 
regarding  changes  of  damp  foot-gear  at  night,  froze  two 
toes.  With  a  courage  almost  heroic,  this  Indian  labored 
to  redeem  himself  by  travelling  along  and  by  doing  all 
his  work  for  several  weeks  until  he  could  scarcely  stand. 
Imbued  with  the  importance  of  his  new  mission,  Rae 
allowed  nothing  to  stand  in  his  way  of  adding  to  his 
precious  knowledge  and  to  the  possible  chance  of  trac- 
ing the  wanderings  of  the  lost  explorers.  He  left  the 
lame  man  with  another  half-breed  to  care  for  him  and 
to  cook  the  food  spared  for  them.  The  shiftless  char- 
acter of  Rae's  men  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  well 
man  not  only  did  not  shoot  anything  but  did  not  even 
gather  saxifrage  for  fuel,  but  used  scarce  and  precious 
grease  food  for  cooking. 

Yet  the  fortitude  and  pride  of  the  cripple  was  dis- 
played in  the  return  journey,  with  the  outer  joint  of  his 
great  toe  sloughed  off,  thus  making  it  most  painful  to 
walk;  as  Rae  remarks,  "He  had  too  much  spirit  to 
allow  himself  to  be  hauled." 

Rae's  collected  information  was  as  follows: 

In  1850  Eskimo  families  kiUing  seals  near  King  Will- 


Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery       153 

iam  Land  saw  about  forty  white  men  travelling  south- 
ward along  the  west  shore,  dragging  a  boat  and  sledges. 
By  signs  the  natives  learned  that  their  ships  had  been 
crushed  and  that  they  were  going  to  find  deer  to  shoot. 
All  were  hauling  on  the  sledge  except  one  officer.  They 
looked  thin  and  bought  a  seal  from  the  natives.  Late 
that  year  the  natives  found  the  corpses  of  about  thirty- 
five  men  near  Montreal  Island  and  Point  Ogle,  part  in 
tents  and  others  under  a  boat.  None  of  the  Eskimos 
questioned  by  Rae  had  seen  the  explorers  either  living 
or  dead.  They  learned  of  these  matters  from  other 
natives,  from  whom  they  had  obtained  by  barter  many 
relics  of  various  kinds. 

Rae  succeeded  in  purchasing  about  sixty  articles  from 
the  Eskimos.  The  most  important,  which  left  no  doubt 
of  their  having  come  from  Franklin's  squadron,  were 
twenty-one  pieces  of  silver  for  the  table,  which  were 
marked  with  five  different  crests  and  with  the  initials 
of  seven  officers  of  the  expedition,  including  Sir  John 
Franklin. 

The  natives  thought  that  some  of  the  explorers  lived 
until  the  coming  of  wild  fowl,  in  May,  1850,  as  shots 
were  heard  and  fish  bones  with  feathers  of  geese  were 
later  seen  near  the  last  encampment. 

Although  Rae  had  completed  his  survey  only  in  part, 
he  wisely  decided  that  he  had,  as  he  records,  "A  higher 
duty  to  attend  to,  that  duty  being  to  communicate  with 
as  little  loss  of  time  as  possible  the  melancholy  tidings 
which  I  had  heard,  and  thereby  save  the  risk  of  more 
valuable  lives  being  jeopardized  in  a  fruitless  search  in 


154  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

a  direction  where  there  was  not  the  slightest  prospect 
of  obtaining  any  information. " 

As  may  be  imagined,  Rae's  definite  reports  stirred 
deeply  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  civilized  world, 
which  for  seven  long  years  had  vainly  striven  to  rend 
the  veil  of  mystery  that  surrounded  the  fate  of  Frank- 
lin and  his  men. 

The  silver  and  other  articles  brought  back  by  Dr. 
Rae  were  placed  in  the  Painted  Hall  of  Greenwich  Hos- 
pital, among  the  many  historic  relics  of  the  royal  navy. 
Even  to-day  these  relics  attract  the  attention  and  excite 
the  admiration  of  countless  visitors.  And  well  they 
may,  not  alone  as  memorials  of  the  deeds  in  peace  of 
the  naval  heroes  of  England,  but  also  as  evidences  of 
the  modest  courage,  the  stanch  endurance,  and  heroic 
efforts  of  a  Scotch  doctor,  John  Rae,  through  whose 
arduous  labors  they  were  placed  in  this  temple  of  fame. 


SONNTAG'S  FATAL  SLEDGE  JOURNEY 


SONNTAG'S  FATAL  SLEDGE  JOURNEY 

"  Death  cut  him  down  before  his  prime. 
At  manhood's  open  portal." 

— POMEROY. 

THE  remarkable  series  of  physical  observations  of 
Kane's  expedition,  the  most  valuable  scientific 
contribution  of  any  single  arctic  party  in  that 
generation,  was  almost  entirely  due  to  the  scientific 
training  and  personal  devotion  of  his  astronomer,  Au- 
gust Sonntag,  While  the  nature  of  his  duties  lay  in  the 
observatory,  his  adventurous  spirit  sought  field  ser- 
vice whenever  practicable.  As  shown  in  "Kane's  Res- 
cue of  His  Freezing  Shipmates,"  Sonntag's  prudence 
kept  him  from  freezing  in  that  terrible  winter  sledging, 
while  his  energy  in  the  long  journey  for  aid  contributed 
to  the  final  rescue  of  the  disabled  party. 

When  Dr.  L  L  Hayes  outfitted  his  expedition  of  i860 
in  the  United  States^  the  glamour  of  the  arctic  seas  was 
still  on  Sonntag,  who  for  service  therewith  resigned  his 
fine  position  as  associate  director  of  the  Dudley  Ob- 
servatory at  Albany.  Of  his  expeditionary  force  Hayes 
wrote  that  he  "lacked  men.  My  only  well-instructed 
associate  was  Mr.  Sonntag. " 

Sailing  as  astronomer  and  as  second  in  command, 
Sonntag  met  his  fate  with  the  expedition  on  the  ice- 
foot of  the  West  Greenland  coast.     His  dangerous  jour- 


^0/ 


158  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

ney  was  made  for  reasons  vital  to  the  success  of  the  ex- 
pedition. The  incidents  of  the  sledge  trip  are  briefly 
supplemented  by  such  references  to  his  previous  field 
experiences  as  show  the  physical  fitness  and  heroic 
quality  of  the  man.* 

The  schooner  United  States  was  in  winter  quarters 
at  Port  Foulke,  near  Littleton  Island.  Without  steam- 
power,  the  ship  had  not  only  been  unable  to  pass  to  the 
northward  of  Cape  Sabine,  but  her  unavoidable  con- 
flicts with  the  polar  pack  had  sadly  damaged  her.  Con- 
scious that  his  ship  was  so  near  a  wreck  as  to  be  unable 
to  renew  her  voyage  toward  the  north  the  next  summer, 
Hayes  found  himself  obliged  to  undertake  his  polar 
explorations  with  dogs  over  a  long  line  of  ice-floes. 

Tests  of  dogs  became  the  order  of  the  day,  and 
Hayes's  delight  was  great  when,  driving  his  own  team 
— twelve  strong,  selected  animals  with  no  load — twelve 
miles  in  sixty-one  minutes,  he  beat  Sonntag  by  four 
minutes. 

Although  knowing  the  danger  of  such  a  journey, 
Sonntag  arranged  to  climb  Brother  John's  Glacier 
(named  by  Kane  for  his  brother)  to  determine  its  sea- 
ward march.  The  approach  was  through  a  deep  can- 
yon. "This  gorge  is  interrupted  in  places  by  immense 
bowlders  which  have  fallen  from  the  overhanging  cliffs, 
or  by  equally  large  masses  of  ice  which  have  broken 
from  the  glacier.  Sometimes  the  ice,  moving  bodily 
forward,  had  pushed  the  rocks  up   the  hill-side  in  a 

*  See  map  on  page  95. 


Sonntag's  Fatal  Sledge  Journey  159 

confused  wave.  After  travelling  two  miles  along  the 
gorge  Sonntag  made  the  ascent,  Alpine  fashion,  with 
which  he  was  familiar,  by  steps  cut  with  a  hatchet  in 
solid  ice." 

The  deep,  irregular  crevasses  common  to  most  gla- 
ciers were  bridged  by  crust  formations  of  the  recent 
autumnal  snows.  These  bridges  were  so  uniform  with 
the  general  surface  of  the  glacier  as  to  make  their  de- 
tection almost  impossible.  Although  Sonntag  moved 
with  great  caution  and  continually  tested  the  snow 
with  his  ice-chisel,  which  replaced  the  Alpine  alpen- 
stock, he  broke  through  one  bridge.  Most  fortunately 
the  fall  was  at  a  place  where  the  fissure  was  only  about 
three  feet  wide,  opening  either  way  into  a  broad  crev- 
asse. Still  more  fortunately  he  did  not  fall  entirely 
into  the  chasm,  but  as  he  pitched  forward  he  instinc- 
tively extended  his  left  hand,  in  which  he  was  carrying 
a  mercurial  barometer  three  feet  long,  which  caught  on 
two  points  of  the  glacier  and  thus  barely  saved  his 
life.    * 

But  Sonntag's  ardent  wish  was  for  a  bear  hunt  which 
occurred  during  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  revisit  Rens- 
selaer Harbor  by  dog-sledge,  when  a  bear  and  cub  were 
killed. 

Hayes  says:  "Sonntag  has  given  me  a  lively  descrip- 
tion of  the  chase.  As  soon  as  the  dogs  discovered  the 
trail  they  dashed  off  utterly  regardless  of  the  safety  of 

*  Comparative  measurements  showed  that  the  centre  of  Brother  John 
Glacier  moved  one  hundred  feet  annually.  Rink  states  that  the  centre  of 
the  great  Jacobshavn  Glacier  moves  twenty  metres  a  day,  or  about  four  and 
a  half  miles  annuallv. 


i6o  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

the  people  on  the  sledges.  Jensen's  sledge  nearly  cap- 
sized, and  Sonntag  rolled  off  in  the  snow,  but  he  was 
fortunate  enough  to  catch  the  upstander  and  with  its 
aid  to  regain  his  seat.  The  delay  in  the  hummocks 
gave  the  bears  a  start  and  made  it  probable  that  they 
would  reach  the  open  sea.  Maddened  by  the  detention 
and  the  prospect  of  the  prey  escaping  them,  the  blood- 
thirsty pack  swept  across  the  snowy  plain  like  a  whirl- 
wind. The  dogs  manifested  the  impatience  of  hounds 
in  view  of  a  fox,  with  ten  times  their  savageness.  To 
Sonntag  they  seemed  like  so  many  wolves  closing  upon 
a  wounded  buffalo. 

**The  old  bear  was  kept  back  by  the  young  one,  which 
she  was  unwilling  to  abandon.  The  poor  beast  was  in 
agony  and  her  cries  were  piteous.  The  little  one  jogged 
on,  frightened  and  anxious,  retarding  the  progress  of  the 
mother  who  would  not  abandon  it.  Fear  and  maternal 
affection  alternately  governed  her.  One  moment  she 
would  rush  forward  toward  the  open  water,  intent  only 
upon  her  own  safety;  then  she  would  wheel  around 
and  push  on  the  struggling  cub  with  her  snout  and 
again  coaxingly  encourage  it  to  greater  speed. 

"Within  fifty  yards  of  the  strugghng  animals  the 
hunters,  leaning  forward,  shpped  the  knot  which  bound 
the  traces  together  in  one  fastening,  and  the  dogs,  freed 
from  the  sledges,  bounded  fiercely  for  their  prey.  The 
old  bear  heard  the  rush  of  her  enemies  and  squared 
herself  to  meet  the  assault.  The  little  one  ran  fright- 
ened around  her  and  then  crouched  for  shelter  between 
her  legs. 


Sonntag's  Fatal  Sledge  Journey  i6i 

**The  old  and  experienced  leader,  Oosi-so-ak,  led  the 
attack.  Queen  Ar-ka-dik  was  close  beside  him,  and 
twenty  other  wolfish  beasts  followed.  Only  one  dog 
faced  her,  and  he,  young,  with  more  courage  than  dis- 
cretion, rushed  at  her  throat  and  in  a  moment  was 
crushed  by  her  huge  paw.  Oo-si-so-ak  came  in  upon 
her  flank,  Ar-ka-dik  tore  at  her  haunch,  and  other  dogs 
followed  this  prudent  example.  She  turned  upon  Oo- 
si-so-ak and  drove  him  from  his  hold,  but  in  this  act 
the  cub  was  uncovered.  Quick  as  lightning  Karsuk  flew 
at  its  neck  and  a  slender  yellow  mongrel  followed  after. 
The  little  bear  prepared  to  do  battle.  Karsuk  missed 
his  grip  and  the  mongrel  tangled  among  the  legs  of  the 
cub  was  soon  doubled  up  with  a  blow  in  the  side  and  es- 
caped yowling.  Oo-si-so-ak  was  hard  pressed,  but  his 
powerful  rival  came  to  his  relief  with  his  followers  upon 
the  opposite  flank,  which  concentrated  onslaught  turned 
the  bear  in  the  direction  of  the  cub  in  time  to  save  it, 
for  it  was  now  being  pulled  down  by  Karsuk  and  his 
pack. 

Disregarding  her  own  tormentors,  she  threw  herself 
upon  the  assailants  of  the  cub,  and  to  avoid  her  blows 
they  quickly  abandoned  their  hold,  which  enabled  her 
to  once  more  draw  under  her  the  plucky  little  creature, 
weakened  with  loss  of  blood  and  exhausted  with  the 
fight.  The  dogs,  beaten  off  from  the  cub,  now  concen- 
trated on  the  mother,  and  the  battle  became  more  fierce 
than  ever.  The  snow  was  covered  with  blood.  A  crim- 
son stream  poured  from  the  old  bear's  mouth  and  an- 
other trickled  over  the  white  hair  of  her  shoulder,  from 


i62  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

shots  fired  by  Hans  and  Jensen.  The  little  one  was 
torn  and  bleeding.  One  dog  was  crushed  almost  life- 
less, and  another  marked  with  many  a  red  stain  the 
spot  where  he  was  soothing  his  agony  with  piteous 
cries. 

"Sonntag  now  came  up,  but  their  united  volley,  while 
weakening  her,  was  not  sufficient  to  prevent  her  from 
again  scattering  the  dogs  and  sheltering  her  offspring, 
which  then  sank  expiring.  Seeing  it  fall,  she  for  a 
moment  forgot  the  dogs,  and  licking  its  face  tried  to 
coax  it  to  rise.  Now,  apparently  conscious  that  the 
cub  no  longer  needed  her  protection,  she  turned  upon 
her  tormentors  with  redoubled  fury,  and  flung  another 
dog  to  join  the  luckless  mongrel. 

"For  the  first  time  she  seemed  to  know  that  she  was 
beset  with  other  enemies  than  dogs,  when,  his  rifle  miss- 
ing fire,  Hans  advanced  with  an  Eskimo  spear  to  a 
hand-to-hand  encounter.  Seeing  him  approach,  the  in- 
furiated monster  cleared  away  the  dogs  with  a  vigorous 
dash  and  charged  him.  He  threw  his  weapon  at  the 
animal  and  turned  in  flight.  The  bear  bounded  after 
him,  and  in  an  instant  more  neither  speed  nor  dogs 
could  have  saved  him.  Fortunately  Sonntag  and  Jen- 
sen had  by  this  time  reloaded  their  rifles,  and  with  well- 
directed  shots  rolled  her  over  on  the  blood-stained 
snow." 

In  early  December  a  great  misfortune  befell  the 
expedition  through  an  epidemic  disease  attacking  the 
dogs.  "The  serious  nature  of  this  disaster  [says  Hayes] 
will  be  apparent  when  it  is  remembered  that  my  plans 


Sonntag's  Fatal  Sledge  Journey  163 

of  operations  for  the  spring  were  mainly  based  upon  dogs 
as  a  means  of  transportation  across  the  ice.  Unless  I 
shall  be  able  to  supply  the  loss,  all  of  my  plans  would  be 
abortive. "  The  first  dog  attacked,  Karsuk  of  the  bear- 
fight,  was  the  best  draught  animal  of  the  best  team. 
Of  the  effect  of  the  malady  he  adds:  **I  have  never 
seen  such  expression  of  ferocity  and  mad  strength  ex- 
hibited by  any  living  creature  as  he  manifested  two 
hours  after  the  first  symptoms  were  observed.  I  had 
him  caught  and  placed  in  a  large  box,  but  this  aggra- 
vated rather  than  soothed  the  violence  of  the  symptoms. 
He  tore  the  boards  with  indescribable  fierceness,  rip- 
ping off  splinter  after  splinter,  when  I  ordered  him  to  be 
shot."  About  the  middle  of  December  there  remained 
only  nine  dogs  out  of  the  original  pack  of  thirty-six. 

It  occurred  both  to  Hayes  and  to  Sonntag  that  the 
best  method  of  replacing  their  lost  animals  was  to  open 
communication  with  the  Eskimos  of  Whale  Sound.  If 
they  could  induce  several  native  famihes,  through  offers 
of  stores  and  food,  to  come  north  to  Fouike  Harbor, 
they  would  bring  along  their  dog  teams  which  would 
thus  be  available  for  the  sledge  journeys  of  the  coming 
spring. 

There  were  supposed  to  be  several  Inuit  families  liv- 
ing on  the  south  side  of  Whale  Sound,  which  was  dis- 
tant a  midwinter  sledge  journey  of  at  least  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  Hayes  says:  "That  we  should  com- 
municate with  these  people  at  the  earliest  practicable 
moment  was  a  matter  of  the  first  importance.  When 
the  moon  came  it  was  arranged  that  Sonntag  should 


164  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

make  the  journey,  taking  a  single  sledge  and  Hans  as  a 
driver. 

Sonntag  and  Hans  started  with  a  team  of  nine  dogs 
on  the  day  of  the  arctic  midnight,  December  21,  when 
the  sun  had  reached  its  greatest  southern  declension. 
Hayes  writes  on  the  22d:  "Sonntag  set  out  yesterday 
to  reach  the  Eskimos.  We  had  talked  the  matter  over 
from  day  to  day,  and  saw  clearly  it  was  the  only  thing 
to  do.  It  was  evident  that  if  we  waited  for  daylight 
they  would  be  beyond  our  reach." 

Five  weeks  later  came  the  news  of  Sonntag's  death, 
which  is  told  by  Hans  in  his  *  Memoirs":* 

'Tn  winter,  just  before  Christmas,  the  astronomer 
[Sonntag]  and  I  undertook  a  journey  by  sledge  to  look 
for  natives.  We  crossed  the  great  glacier  [at  Cape 
Alexander]  and  travelled  the  whole  day  without  meet- 
ing with  any  people.  A  strong  wind  sprang  up  from 
the  north  and  caused  a  thick  drifting  of  snow,  while  we 
made  our  snow  hut  and  went  to  sleep.  On  wakening 
the  next  day  it  still  blew  a  gale  and  the  snow  drifting 
dreadfully,  for  which  reason  we  resolved  to  return. 
While  we  proceeded  homeward  the  ice  began  to  break 
up,  so  we  were  forced  to  go  ashore  and  continue  our 
drive  over  the  beach  ice  [ice-foot].  We  arrived  at  a 
small  firth  and  crossed  it,  but  on  trying  to  proceed  by 
land  on  the  other  side  it  proved  impassable  and  we  were 


*  <« 


'  Memoirs  of  Hans  Hendrik  "  was  written  by  Hans  in  Eskimo  twenty- 
eight  years  after  Sonntag's  death.  This  little-known  volume,  translated  by 
Dr.  Henry  Rink,  gives,  among  other  interesting  matter  about  the  expeditions 
of  Kane,  Hayes,  Hall,  and  Nares,  the  account  of  Sonntag's  death,  which  is 
substantially  the  same  as  that  recorded  in  Hayes's  "Open  Polar  Sea." 


Sonntag's  Fatal  Sledge  Journey  165 


obliged  to  return  to  the  ice  again.  On  descending  here 
my  companion  fell  through  the  ice  which  was  nothing 
but  a  thick  sheet  of  snow  and  water.  I  stooped  [from 
the  high  ice-foot  evidently]  but  was  unable  to  seize  him, 
it  being  very  low  tide.  As  a  last  resort  I  remembered  a 
strap  hanging  on  the  sledge-poles;  this  I  threw  to  him, 
and  when  he  had  tied  it  around  his  body  I  pulled,  but 
found  it  very  difficult.  At  length  I  succeeded  in  draw- 
ing him  up,  but  he  was  at  the  point  of  freezing  to  death, 
and  now  in  the  storm  and  drifting  snow  he  took  off 
his  clothes  and  slipped  into  the  sleeping-bag,  where- 
upon I  placed  him  on  the  sledge  and  repaired  to  our 
last  resting-place. 

"Our  road  being  very  rough,  I  cried  from  despair  for 
want  of  help;  but  I  reached  the  snow  hut  and  brought 
him  inside.  I  was,  however,  unable  to  kindle  a  lire  and 
was  myself  overpowered  with  cold.  My  companion 
grew  still  worse,  although  placed  in  the  bear-skin  bag, 
but  with  nothing  else  than  his  shirt.  By  and  by  his 
breathing  grew  scarcer,  and  I,  too,  began  to  feel  ex- 
tremely cold  on  account  of  now  standing  still  after 
having  perspired  with  exertion.  During  the  whole 
night  my  friend  still  breathed,  but  he  drew  his  breath 
at  long  intervals  and  toward  morning  only  very  rarely. 
When  finally  I  was  at  the  point  of  freezing  to  death,  I 
shut  up  the  entrance  with  snow,  and  as  the  breaking  up 
of  the  ice  had  rendered  any  near  road  to  the  ship  im- 
practicable, and  the  gale  continued  violently,  I  set  out 
for  the  south  in  search  of  men,  although  I  had  a  wide 
sea  to  cross." 


l66  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

After  finding  two  deserted  huts  he  threw  himself 
down  in  despair,  awaiting  his  death.  He  continues: 
"When  here  I  lay  prostrate  I  uttered  sighing,  They  say 
some  one  on  high  watches  over  me  too.  Have  mercy  on  mcy 
end  save  me  if  possible,  though  I  am  a  great  sinner.  My 
dear  wije  and  child  are  in  such  a  pitiful  state — may  I  first 
be  able  to  bring  them  to  the  land  of  the  baptized.* 

*T  also  pronounced  the  following  prayer: 

"  'Jesu,  lead  me  by  the  hand 
While  I  am  here  below, 
Forsake  me  not. 

If  Thou  dost  not  abide  with  me,  I  shall  fall. 
But  near  to  Thee  I  am  safe.' 

Thereafter  I  arose  and  set  off  again.  ...  I  discovered 
the  light  of  a  window\  .  .  .  These  folks  [Etah  Inuits] 
w^ere  very  kind  and  hospitable.  When  I  entered  the 
liouse  and  began  to  take  off  my  clothes  the  fox-skin 
of  my  jacket  was  as  soft  and  moist  as  if  newly  flayed. 
My  outer  bear-skin  trousers  were  not  so  very  wet. 
When  I  took  off  my  hare-skin  gaiters  they  stuck  to  my 
stockings  from  being  frozen  together,  and  I  could  not 
get  them  off  but  by  cutting  open  the  boots.  Had  I 
used  seal-skin  gaiters  I  think  that  I  should  have  frozen 
to  death.  Here  I  stayed  many  days,  being  unable  to 
return  alone." 

Sonntag's  body  was  recovered  in  the  early  spring, 
the  hut  in  which  he  died  being  found  to  be  completely 

*  Hans  Hendrik  was  of  West  Greenland  where  all  the  natives  are  baptized. 
His  wife,  Mertuk,  was  one  of  the  so-called  heathen  natives  of  the  Cape  York 
region.    See  "The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk,  the  Daughter  of  Shung-hu." 


Sonntag's  Fatal  Sledge  Journey  167 


covered  with  drifted  snow,  and  he  was  buried  on  the 
desolate  shores  of  Port  Foulke. 

In  an  unpublished  journal  his  shipmate  Dodge  writes: 
"Not  yet  in  the  prime  of  life,  but  already  enjoying  a 
well-earned  reputation  which  gray-haired  men  might 
envy,  with  prospects  of  honor  and  usefulness  before 
him,  he  was  endowed  with  abilities  to  achieve  success 
in  the  highest  walks  of  science.  Peace  to  his  remains 
and  all  honor  to  his  memory.  For  among  the  gallant 
and  the  gifted  men  who  have  fallen  victims  to  their 
zeal  for  scientific  research  in  the  arctic  regions,  there 
has  been  none  braver  or  worthier  than  August  Sonn- 
tag. 

Thus  perished  one  of  nature's  gentlemen,  wedded  to 
the  universe  through  his  devotion  to  astronomy  and  yet 
alive  to  the  winning  aspects  of  terrestrial  grandeurs. 
Unsparing  of  self  where  the  lives  or  comfort  of  his 
comrades  were  in  question,  in  unobtrusive  v/ays  he 
contributed  to  their  happiness  and  shared  cheerfully 
the  common  burden  of  daily  duties.  Such  manly 
qualities,  simple  though  they  seem,  made  heroic  the 
life  and  death  of  August  Sonntag. 


THE  HEROIC  DEVOTION  OF  LADY  JANE 

FRANKLIN 


THE  HEROIC  DEVOTION  OF  LADY  JANE 

FRANKLIN 

"So  many  saints  and  saviors, 
So  many  high  behaviors." 

— Emerson. 

IN  "The  Discovery  of  the  Northwest  Passage"  and 
in  "Pirn's  Timely  Sledge  Journey"  there  have  been 
sketched  various  heroic  phases  connected  with  the 
last  voyage  of  Sir  John  Franklin  and  the  expeditions 
of  the  Franklin  search.  In  the  search  there  were  em- 
ployed thirty-three  ships  and  nearly  two  thousand 
officers  and  men,  whose  utmost  endeavors  during  a 
period  of  eight  years,  and  at  an  expense  of  many  mill- 
ions of  dollars,  had  failed  to  obtain  any  definite  in- 
formation as  to  the  fate  of  the  missing  explorers.  One 
clew  had  come  from  private  sources,  as  shown  in  the 
tale  of  "Dr.  Rae  and  the  Franklin  Mystery." 

This  present  narrative  sets  forth  the  work  accom- 
plished through  the  devotion  of  the  widow  of  Sir  John 
Franklin,  in  a  so-called  hopeless  enterprise.  Sacrific- 
ing her  ease  and  her  private  fortune  to  a  sense  of  duty, 
not  alone  to  her  husband  but  also  to  those  who  served 
under  him,  her  labors  eventually  wrested  from  the  deso- 
late isles  of  the  northern  seas  the  definite  secret  of  the 
fate  of  the  expedition  as  a  whole. 

After  his  abandonment  in  1853  of  four  expeditionary 
ships  of  the  Franklin  search,  Sir  Edward  Belcher  re- 

171 


172  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

turned  to  England,  ending  what  he  termed  "The 
Last  of  Arctic  Voyages, "  in  which  opinion  the  British 
Government  concurred.  Lady  Jane  Franklin  did  not 
accept  this  decision  as  final.  On  April  12,  1856,  in  a 
letter  to  the  admiralty,  she  strongly  urged  the  need  for 
a  further  search,  saying:  "It  is  due  to  a  set  of  men  who 
have  solved  the  problem  of  centuries  by  the  sacrifice  of 
their  lives."  To  this  letter  no  reply  was  made,  and 
efforts  for  another  expedition  made  by  her  friends  in 
Parliament  were  equally  futile. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  even  such  unwonted  and 
discourteous  neglect  did  not  silence  this  noble-hearted 
woman,  whose  heroic  devotion  had  been  conspicuously 
displayed  in  her  earlier  efforts.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  she  had  previously  awakened  the  interest  and  en- 
gaged the  active  support  of  two  great  nations — Russia 
and  the  United  States — in  the  search  for  the  Franklin 
squadron. 

Americans  will  recall  with  pride  that,  moved  by  Lady 
FrankUn's  appeal,  President  Zachary  Taylor,  in  a  mes- 
sage of  January  4, 1850,  urged  co-operation  on  Congress, 
which  took  action  that  resulted  in  the  expedition  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  E.  J.  De  Haven,  United  States 
Navy. 

In  her  letter  to  President  Taylor,  Lady  Frankhn  al- 
luded gracefully  to  "that  continent  of  which  the  Amer- 
ican repubhc  forms  so  vast  and  conspicuous  a  portion,'* 
and  says:  "To  the  American  whalers  I  look  v/ith  more 
hope,  being  well  aware  of  their  numbers  and  strength, 
their  thorough  equipment,  and  the  bold  spirit  of  enter- 


Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin    173 

prise  which  animates  their  crews.  But  I  venture  to 
look  even  beyond  these.  I  am  not  without  hope  that 
you  will  deem  it  not  unworthy  of  a  great  and  kindred 
nation  to  take  up  the  cause  of  humanity,  which  I  plead, 
in  a  national  spirit." 

On  learning  of  the  attitude  of  the  American  press,  she 
wrote:  "I  learn  that  the  people  of  the  United  States 
have  responded  to  the  appeal  made  to  their  humane  and 
generous  feelings,  and  that  in  a  manner  worthy  of  so 
great  and  powerful  a  nation — indeed,  with  a  munificence 
which  is  almost  without  parallel." 

Now  the  efforts  of  three  nations  having  failed.  Lady 
Jane  then  resolved  to  undertake  a  final  search  at  the 
expense  of  herself  and  of  her  sympathizing  friends. 
There  was  then  available  the  Resolute^  abandoned  by 
Belcher,  brought  back  by  the  American  whaler,  J.  M. 
Buddington,  bought  by  the  American  Congress,  and 
presented  to  the  Queen.  The  admiralty  would  neither 
loan  the  Resolute  nor  any  of  its  surplus  stores  suited  for 
arctic  service.  B}^  the  efforts  of  Lady  Franklin  and  her 
friends  the  steam-yacht  Fox  was  sent  forth  on  an  ex- 
pedition that  cost  about  thirty-five  thousand  pounds 
sterling,  of  which  the  greater  portion  came  from  Lady 
Jane's  private  fortune.  McClintock  and  Allen  Young 
volunteered  to  serve  without  pay,  and  both  Hobson 
and  Dr.  Walker  made  similar  pecuniary  sacrifices. 

At  McClintock's  request  Lady  Jane  wrote  out  her 
wishes,  in  which  the  personal  element  came  last.  She 
says:  "The  rescue  of  any  survivor  of  the  Erebus  and 
Terror  would  be  to  me  the  noblest  results  of  our  efforts. 


174  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

To  this  object  I  wish  every  other  to  be  subordinate;  and 
next  to  it  in  importance  is  the  recovery  of  the  unspeak- 
ably precious  documents  of  the  expedition,  public  and 
private,  and  the  personal  relics  of  my  dear  husband  and 
his  companions.  And  lastl}^,  to  confirm,  directly  or  in- 
ferentially,  the  claim  of  my  husband's  expedition  to 
the  earliest  discovery  of  the  passage,  which,  if  Dr. 
Rae's  report  be  true  (and  the  government  has  accepted 
it  as  such),  these  martj^rs  in  a  noble  cause  achieved  at 
their  last  extremity." 

Captain  Sir  Leopold  McClintock  sailed  July  2,  1857, 
inspired  by  the  feeling  that  "the  glorious  mission  in- 
trusted to  me  was  in  reality  a  great  national  duty." 
He  was  the  greatest  of  arctic  sledgemen,  having  made 
in  unexplored  parts  of  Parry  archipelago,  without 
dogs,  a  sledge  journey  of  one  hundred  and  five  days, 
in  which  he  travelled  twelve  hundred  and  ten  miles. 

Reaching  Baffin  Bay,  theFox  had  the  great  misfortune 
of  being  caught  in  the  pack  in  the  midst  of  summer, 
on  August  15.  McClintock's  experiences  and  sufferings 
vv^ere  horrible.  His  assistant  engineer  died  of  an  acci- 
dent, and  for  days  at  a  time  the  Fox  was  in  danger 
of  instant  destruction  from  gales,  icebergs,  and  other 
elements  attendant  on  life  in  the  pack.  After  a  beset- 
ment  of  eight  months  and  nine  days,  in  which  she 
drifted  twelve  hundred  miles  to  the  south,  the  yacht 
escaped,  buffeted,  racked,  and  leaking. 

The  winter  in  the  pack  was  not  entirely  without  the 
presence  of  game,  for  in  the  beginning  of  November  a 
bear  crept  up  to  the  yacht,  attracted  by  odors  from  the 


Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin    175 

cook's  galley.  Fortunately  an  alert  quartermaster  de- 
tected his  form  outlined  against  the  snow  and  at  once 
shouted  to  the  dogs.  Some  of  them  ran  like  cowards, 
while  others,  rushing  the  bear,  closed  in  on  him,  biting 
his  legs  as  he  ran.  Crossing  a  lane  of  lately  frozen  sea, 
the  bear  broke  through  the  new  ice,  followed  by  a 
number  of  dogs  who  held  fast  to  him  in  the  water- 
space.  One  dog,  old  Sophy,  fared  badl)^  at  close 
quarters,  receiving  a  deep  cut  in  one  of  her  shoulders 
from  his  sharp  claws.  It  took  four  shots  to  kill  the 
animal,  it  being  a  large  male  bear  seven  feet  three 
inches  long.  McClintock  tells  us  that  "The  chase  and 
death  were  e.xciting.  A  misty  moon  affording  but 
scanty  light,  dark  figures  gliding  singly  about,  not 
daring  to  approach  each  other,  for  the  ice  trembled 
under  their  feet,  the  enraged  bear,  the  wolfish,  howling 
dogs,  and  the  bright  flashes  of  the  rifles  made  a  novel 
scene." 

The  escape  from  the  pack  was  made  under  conditions 
that  would  turn  one's  hair  gray  in  a  few  days.  For 
eighteen  hours  the  chief  stood  fast  at  his  engines,  while 
navigation  was  made  through  very  high  seas,  with 
waves  from  ten  to  thirteen  feet  high,  which  threatened 
to  destroy  the  yacht  by  driving  against  her  great 
ice-floes  which  shook  the  vessel  violently  and  nearly 
knocked  the  crew  off  their  legs. 

Return  to  Europe  for  repairs  seemed  inevitable,  but 
with  the  thought  of  poor  Lad}^  Franklin  in  his  heart, 
McChntock  patched  up  the  ship  as  best  he  could  in 
Greenland,  and,  crossing  Baffin  Bay,  was  driven,  after 


176  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

a  fruitless  sea-search,  to  winter  quarters  in  Port  Ken- 
nedy, 72°  N.  94°  W. 

Hunting  filled  in  the  winter,  though  most  animal  life 
had  gone  south.  Lemmings  were  plentiful,  about  twice 
the  size  of  and  resembling  the  short-tailed  field-mouse. 
Bold  and  fearless,  they  enlivened  the  members  of  the 
crew.  An  ermine  visited  the  ship,  and,  being  seen  by 
one  of  the  dogs,  the  pack  set  up  a  perfect  pandemonium 
in  their  efforts  to  catch  him.  The  beautiful  snow-white 
creature  rather  unconcernedl}^  watched  the  eflPorts  of 
the  dogs  to  get  at  him  under  the  grating  of  the  boat 
where  he  was  safely  ensconced.  It  was  amusing  to 
see  an  ermine  play  around  the  ship,  and  when  closely 
pursued  by  man  or  by  dog  plunge  into  a  drift  of  soft 
snow  onl}'  to  reappear  at  a  considerable  distance  and 
in  a  quarter  where  least  expected.  It  was  with  the 
active  little  animals  a  kind  of  hide-and-seek  game,  with 
their  lives  for  forfeit  if  they  were  caught. 

During  Hobson's  long  journey  to  lay  down  an  ad- 
vance depot  he  lost  a  dog  actually  from  overcare.  She 
had  the  bad  habit  of  gnawing  and  eating  her  seal-thong 
harness,  and  to  prevent  this  Hobson  caused  her  to  be 
tightly  muzzled  after  the  evening  meal.  One  of  the 
numberless  dog-fights  occurred  during  the  night,  and 
with  the  trait  so  common  to  these  half-wolfish  beasts 
they  fell  on  the  least  defenceless,  and  the  whole  pack 
bit  and  tore  almost  to  pieces  their  muzzled  and  de- 
fenceless sister.  Her  vv^ounds  were  so  many  and  so 
deep  that  she  died  during  the  day. 

In  this  journey  Hobson's  party  barely  escaped  per- 


Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin    177 

Ishing  through  a  violent  northeasterly  gale  which  drove 
seaward  the  ice-pack  on  which  they  were  encamped. 
McClintock  says  that  on  discovering  that  the  entire 
ice-field  was  adrift  ''They   packed    their   sledge,  har- 


King  William  Land. 


nessed  the  dogs,  and  passed  the  long  and  fearful  night 
in  anxious  waiting  for  some  chance  to  escape.  A  little 
distance  offshore  the  ice  broke  up  under  the  influence 
of  the  wind  and  sea,  and  the  disruption  continued  until 
the  piece  they  were  on  was  scarce  twenty  yards  in  di- 
ameter. Impelled  by  the  storm,  in  utter  darkness 
and  amid  fast-falling  snow,  they  drifted  across  a  wide 


178  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

inlet.  The  gale  was  quickly  followed  by  a  calm,  and 
an  intense  frost  in  a  single  night  formed  ice  strong 
enough  to  bear  them  safely  to  land,  although  it  bent 
fearfully  under  their  weight.  Their  escape  was  indeed 
providential. " 

Death  spared  these  men  of  action  in  the  field,  but  it 
invaded  the  ship,  and  Brand,  the  engineer,  died  of  apo- 
plexy. 

When  the  sun  came  back  after  seventy-three  days 
of  absence,  McClintock  decided  to  take  the  field,  and 
started  February  14,  earlier  than  any  previous  arctic 
traveller,  for  an  extended  journey.  His  great  hope  of 
success  depended  on  finding  Eskimos  in  the  region  of 
the  north  magnetic  pole,  which  entailed  a  trip  of  four 
hundred  and  twenty  miles,  in  temperatures  as  much 
as  eighty  degrees  below  the  freezing-point. 

Sledging  through  an  unknown  country,  wearily 
breaking  day  after  day  a  trail  for  his  emaciated,  un- 
trained dogs,  McClintock  vainly  searched  the  unbroken 
snowy  wastes  for  trace  of  sledge  or  of  man,  and  anx- 
iousl}^  scanned  the  dreary  landscape  for  sight  of  the 
longed-for  igloo  or  hut.  The  cold  was  intense,  the 
land  was  barren  of  game,  the  region  seemed  accursed 
in  its  desolation,  while  the  conditions  of  travel  were 
hard  in  the  extreme. 

The  absence  of  human  life  was  far  more  distressing 
to  the  heroic  McClintock  than  the  rigors  of  the  jour- 
ney, for  without  Inuit  aid  the  labors  and  sufferings  of 
his  crew  and  of  himself  would  be  unavailing.  Was 
it  possible  that  the  region  was  abandoned  by  beast 


Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin    179 


and  so  by  man?  Was  his  mission  destined  to  be  a 
failure?     Could  he  succeed  without  Eskimo  help? 

He  reached  the  magnetic  pole  without  seeing  any 
one,  his  dogs  in  such  fearful  plight  that  he  could  ad- 
vance but  one  day  farther.  Six  of  the  dogs  were  then 
useless,  and  during  the  journey  the  poor  animals  had 
so  suffered  from  poor  food,  intense  cold,  and  bad 
snow  that  several  of  them  had  repeatedly  fallen  down 
in  fits. 

When  he  was  quite  in  despair,  several  Eskimos  re- 
turning from  a  seal  hunt  crossed  his  trail  and  visited 
his  camp.  From  the  winter  colony  of  forty-five 
Boothians  he  gained  his  first  tidings  of  the  missing 
explorers.  One  native  said  that  a  three-masted  ship 
had  been  crushed  by  ice  to  the  west  of  King  William 
Land,  but  the  crew  came  safe  to  shore.  Another  told 
of  white  men  who  starved  on  an  island  (probably 
Montreal)  where  salmon  came.  That  the  men  had 
perished  was  quite  clear  from  the  abundance  of  Frank- 
hn  relics  among  the  Eskimos — buttons,  knives,  forks, 
McDonald's  medal  and  a  gold  chain,  which  McClintock 
bought  at  the  average  price  of  one  needle  each.  None 
of  the  Inuits  had  seen  the  whites,  but  one  native  had 
seen  some  of  their  skeletons. 

An  example  of  the  disregard  of  the  natives  for  extreme 
cold  made  McClintock  shiver  with  pity  and  anger.  He 
says:  "One  pertinacious  old  dame  pulled  out  her  infant 
by  the  arm  from  the  back  of  her  large  fur  dress,  and 
quietly  held  the  poor  little  creature,  perfectly  naked, 
before  me  in  the  breeze,  the  temperature  at  the  time 


i8o  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

being  sixty  degrees  below  the  freezing-point. "  McClin- 
tock  at  once  gave  her  a  needle,  for  which  she  was  thus 
begging,  but  was  considerably  alarmed  for  the  infant's 
safety  before  it  was  restored  to  the  warmth  of  its 
mother's  fur  hood. 

Active  sledging,  meantime,  by  Young,  Walker,  and 
Hobson,  had  no  results  beyond  snow-bhndness,  freez- 
ings, and  other  suffering  for  these  resolute  and  effi- 
cient officers.  McCHntock  himself,  on  his  return,  was 
scarred  by  frost-bites,  his  fingers  calloused  by  frequent 
freezings,  and  his  body  thin  with  scant  food,  which 
made  him  eat,  Boothian  fashion,  "frozen  blubber  in 
delicate  little  slices."  These  physical  hardships  were 
as  nothing  in  return  for  the  mental  satisfaction  of 
tidings  of  Franklin,  with  intimations  as  to  the  locality 
of  the  regions  in  which  further  research  would  doubt- 
less produce  results.  He  was  determined  to  explore  the 
whole  King  William  region,  and  thus  obtain  further 
information  as  to  the  fate  of  the  second  ship. 

McClintock  then  outfitted  his  sledge  party  for  a  jour- 
ney of  eighty-four  days,  with  Hobson  as  assistant,  while 
Young  was  to  establish  supporting  depots  of  food,  the 
field  of  operations  to  be  southwest  of  the  magnetic  pole. 

The  journey  to  the  Boothian  village  was,  like  other 
arctic  travel,  under  bad  conditions.  The  uncomplain- 
ing leader  tells  us  that  despite  colored  glasses  their  eyes 
were  inflamed  and  nearly  blinded,  while  the  tale  was 
further  told  by  their  blistered  faces,  frost-bitten  mem- 
bers, cracked  lips,  and  split  hands.  The  discomfort  of 
their  camps  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  it  took 


Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin    i8i 


an  entire  day  to  clear  from  accumulated  ice  and  hoar- 
frost their  sleeping-bags  and  camp  gear.  The  exhaust- 
ing character  of  their  march  is  evident  from  the  load  of 
two  hundred  pounds  hauled  by  each  man  and  the  hun- 
dred pounds  pulled  by  each  dog. 

Two  Boothian  families  now  told  McClintock  that 
one  ship  sank  and  that  the  other  broke  up  on  shore 
where  she  was  forced  by  the  ice.  The  body  of  a  very 
large  man  with  long  teeth  had  been  found  in  the  ship 
visited  by  the  Inuits.  The  crew  had  gone,  taking  boats 
along,  to  the  "large  [Back]  river,"  where  their  bones 
were  later  found.  An  old  Eskimo  woman  and  boy  had 
last  visited  the  wreck  during  the  preceding  winter, 
1857-8. 

On  leaving  the  magnetic  pole,  in  order  to  extend  the 
field  of  search,  Hobson  was  sent  down  the  west  coast  of 
King  William  Land.  McClintock  following  the  land 
to  the  east  of  that  island  fell  in  with  forty  natives,  who 
confirmed  the  information  earlier  obtained,  and  from 
whom  he  bought  silver  plate  marked  with  the  crests  of 
Franklin,  Crozier,  Fairholme,  and  McDonald. 

It  was  the  middle  of  May  when  he  reached  snow-clad 
Montreal  Island,  which  he  fruitlessly  searched  with  as 
much  thoroughness  as  was  possible  under  conditions 
of  blizzard  weather  and  zero  temperatures.  Of  his 
travel  troubles  he  tells  us  that  driving  a  wretched  dog 
team  for  six  weeks  had  quite  exhausted  his  stock  oi 
patience.  He  relates:  "None  of  the  dogs  had  ever  been 
yoked  before,  and  the}'  displayed  astonishing  cunnmg 
and   perversity   to  avoid   whip   and   work.     They   bit 


1 82  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

through  their  traces,  hid  under  the  sled,  leaped  over 
each  other  until  the  traces  were  plaited  and  the  dogs 
knotted  together.  I  had  to  halt  every  few  minutes, 
pull  off  my  mitts,  and  at  the  risk  of  frozen  fingers  dis- 
entangle the  lines.  When  the  sledge  is  stopped  or 
stuck  fast  in  deep  snow,  the  perfectly  delighted  dogs 
lie  down,  and  the  driver  has  to  himself  extricate  the 
sledge  and  apply  persuasion  to  set  his  team  in  mo- 
tion. 

His  hopes  of  finding  tangible  information  as  to  the 
Franklin  records  had  been  centred  on  Montreal  Island, 
which  Rae's  report  (p.  139)  indicated  as  the  scene  of 
the  final  catastrophe.  McClintock's  thorough  search 
of  that  region  had  been  futile.  Must  he  return  to 
England  and  face  Lady  Franklin  with  the  admission 
that  her  years  of  effort  and  her  sacrifice  of  personal 
fortune  had  produced  no  additional  results.?  Was  the 
fate  of  England's  noted  explorers  to  remain  always 
a  mystery?  Were  the  records  of  work  done  and  of 
courage  shown  by  the  officers  and  the  men  of  the 
royal  navy  lost  forever  to  the  world?  A  thousand 
like  and  unbidden  thoughts  filled  incessantly  the  tort- 
ured brain  of  this  the  greatest  of  arctic  sledgemen* 
However,  it  was  not  in  the  nature  of  this  noble-hearted 
man  to  despair  utterly,  or  to  cease  from  labors  to  the 
very  end. 

Sick  at  heart  and  worn  in  body,  the  indefatigable 
McClintock  turned  shipward,  and  almost  despairingly 
took  up  the  search  of  the  south  coast  of  King  William 
Land.     Here  he  tells  us:   "On  a  gravel  ridge  near  the 


Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin    183 

beach,  partially  bare  of  snow,  I  came  upon  a  human 
skeleton,  now  perfectly  bleached,  lying  upon  its  face. 
This  poor  man  seems  to  have  fallen  in  the  position  in 
which  we  found  him.  It  was  a  melancholy  truth  that 
the  old  woman  spoke  when  she  said :  *  They  fell  down 
and  died  as  they  walked  along' "  Sad  as  may  appear 
the  fate  of  this  man,  one  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
expedition,  his  indomitable  courage  in  struggling  to 
the  last  moment  of  his  life  will  always  stand  as  an 
instance  of  the  high  endeavor  and  heroic  persistency 
of  the  British  race. 

Welcome  as  was  the  indirect  information  obtained  in 
this  and  in  other  places  near  by,  iMcCIintock's  heart  was 
supremely  gladdened  at  finding  in  a  small  cairn,  prom- 
inently placed;,  a  note  from  Hobson  who  had  found  an 
abandoned  boat,  in  which  were  two  skeletons,  with 
crested  silver,  etc.,  and,  most  vital  of  all,  a  record 
from  Frankhn's  expedition. 

It  appears  that  Hobson  found  on  the  south  side  of 
Back  Bay,  King  William  Land,  a  record  deposited  by 
Lieutenant  Graham  Gore  in  May,  1847.  It  was  in  a 
thin  tin  soldered-up  cylinder,  and  proved  to  be  a  dupli- 
cate of  the  record  also  found  by  Hobson  at  Point  Vic- 
tory. The  latter  record  was  in  an  unsoldered  cylinder 
which  had  fallen  from  the  top  of  the  cairn  where  it  was 
originally  placed.  It  was  written  on  one  of  the  printed 
blanks  usually  furnished  to  surveying  and  to  discovery 
ships  to  be  thrown  overboard  in  a  sealed  bottle,  with 
a  request  to  return  it  to  the  admiralty.  This  written 
record,  in  full,  ran  as  follows: 


184  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

"H.  M.  Ships  Erebus  and  Terror  28th  of  May  1847. 
Wintered  in  the  ice  in  Lat.  70°  5'  N.,  Long.  98°  23'  W.' 
Having  wintered  in  1846-7  [should  read  1845-6]  at 
Beechey  Island,  in  Lat.  74°  43'  N.,  Long.  91°  39'  15"  W. 
After  having  ascended  Wellington  Channel  to  Lat.  yfy 
and  returning  by  the  west  coast  of  Cornwallis  Island. 
Sir  John  Franklin  commanding  the  Expedition.  All 
well.  Party  consisting  of  2  officers  and  6  men  left 
the  ships  on  Monday  24th  May  1847. 

"  Gm  [Graham]  Gore  Lieut. 

"  Chas  F  Des  Voeux  Mate.'* 

On  the  margin  of  the  above  record  was  written  the 
following: 


a 


April  25,  1848,  H.  M.  Ships  Terror  and  Erebus  were 
deserted  on  the  22nd  of  April,  5  leagues  N.N.W.  of 
this,  having  been  beset  since  12  September,  1846. 
The  officers  and  crew,  consisting  of  105  souls,  under 
the  command  of  Capt.  F.  R.  M.  Crozier,  landed 
in  Lat.  69°  37'  42",  Long.  93°  41'  W.  This  paper 
was  found  by  Lieut.  Irving,  under  the  cairn  sup- 
posed to  have  been  built  by  Sir  James  Ross  in 
183 1,  4  miles  to  the  northward,  where  it  had  been 
deposited  by  the  late  commander  Gore  in  [May,  erased 
and  therefor  substituted]  June,  1847.  Sir  James 
Ross'  pillar  has  not  however  been  found  and  the 
paper  has  been  transferred  to  this  position,  which  is 
that  in  which  Sir  J.  Ross'  pillar  was  erected.  Sir 
John  Franklin  died  on  the  nth  of  June,  1847,  and  the 


Heroic  Devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin    185 

total  loss  by  death  in  the  Expedition  has  been  to  date 
9  officers  and  15  men. 

"  F.  R.  M.  Crozier,  Captain  and  senior  officer. 

"  James  Fitzjames,  Captain  H.  M.  S.  Erebus. 
*'And  start  to-morrow,  26th,  for  Back's  Fish  River. " 

These  are  the  only  records  that  have  ever  been  found, 
and  the  thorough  search  made  by  Hall,  Schwatka,  and 
Gilder  make  it  most  improbable  that  any  other  will 
ever  be  discovered. 

The  heroic  persistency  of  Hobson  in  locating  these 
precious  papers  is  akin  to  that  shown  by  the  steward 
who  fell  down  and  died  as  he  walked.  When  ten  days 
out  from  the  ship  Hobson  found  that  he  was  suffering 
from  scurvy,  but  he  went  on  and  in  a  month  walked 
lame.  Near  the  end  of  his  journey  of  seventy-four  days 
he  was  not  able  to  walk  more  than  a  few  yards  at  a  time, 
and  so  had  to  allow  himself  to  be  dragged  on  the  sledge. 
When  he  arrived  at  the  ship  he  was  neither  able  to  walk 
nor  even  to  stand  without  assistance.  Worthy  com- 
rades were  Sir  Allen  Young  and  Dr.  Walker,  whose 
strenuous  and  co-operating  labors  made  this  success 
possible,  for  which  they  also  paid  the  price  in  physical 
suffering  and  in  impaired  health. 

McClintock  himself  played  many  parts,  for  with  his 
two  engineers  dead  he  stood  at  a  critical  time  twenty- 
four  consecutive  hours  at  the  engine,  while  Young  from 
the  crow's  nest  piloted  the  Fox  out  of  the  ice-pack  on 
her  homeward  voyage,  in  August,  1859. 

With     characteristic     modesty     McClintock    dwells 


i86  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

lightly  on  his  own  work,  and  ends  his  story  with  a 
merited  tribute  to  "those  heroic  men  who  perished 
in  the  path  of  duty,  but  not  until  they  had  achieved 
the  grand  object  of  their  voyage — the  discovery  of  the 
northwest  passage. " 

While  the  self-sacrificing  heroism  of  McClintock  and 
of  his  loyal  companions  solved  the  mystery  of  the 
English  sailor  dead,  which  their  pow^erful  government 
had  been  unable  to  reveal,  yet  the  initiation  and  in  part 
the  prosecution  of  this  work  were  due  to  the  wifely  and 
patriotic  devotion  of  Lady  Jane  Franklin. 

Well  and  truly  has  it  been  said  of  this  true  woman: 
**So  long  as  the  name  of  Franklin  shall  be  bright  in  the 
annals  of  British  heroism  will  the  unwearied  devotion 
and  energy  of  his  widow  be  with  it  remembered  and 
honored." 


THE  MARVELLOUS  ICE-DRIFT  OF 
CAPTAIN  TYSON 


THE  MARVELLOUS  ICE-DRIFT  OF 
CAPTAIN  TYSON 

"To  die  be  given  us,  or  to  attain! 
Fierce  work  it  were  to  do  again." 

— Arnold. 

ONLY  once  in  our  history  has  the  United  States 
sent  forth  an  expedition  to  reach  the  north  pole, 
and  that  was  under  Charles  Francis  Hall,  al- 
ready distinguished  for  his  daring  arctic  work  in  search 
of  relics  of  the  Franklin  squadron.  Hall  sailed  in  the 
Polaris^  and  in  a  voyage  of  unusual  rapidity,  passing 
through  Smith  Sound,  added  to  his  fame  by  discovering 
Robeson  Channel  and  Its  bordering  lands.  He  broke 
the  record  In  navigating  his  ship  to  82  11'  north  lati- 
tude, in  the  Great  Frozen  Ocean,  which  was  reached 
August  30,  1 87 1.  The  Polaris^  forced  southward  by 
the  arctic  pack,  wintered  at  Thank  God  Harbor,  Green- 
land, where  Hall  died  of  apoplexy.  With  his  death  the 
north-polar  quest  was  abandoned,  and  the  ice-master 
Buddington  sailed  homeward  the  following  summer. 
Pushed  hastily  Into  an  impassable  pack,  the  ship  was 
subjected  to  its  vicissitudes  for  two  months  without 
possibility  of  escape.  Drifting  steadily  southward  the 
Polaris  was  off  Northumberland  Island  on  October  15, 
1872,  when  she  was  nearly  destroyed  by  a  violent  bliz- 
zard and  her  crew  was  separated — half  on  the  floating 

1S9 


190  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

pack  and  the  rest  on  shipboard.  The  latter  party 
beached  the  sinking  ship  in  Life  Boat  Cove,  where  the 
crew  wintered.  Going  south  in  1873  they  were  picked 
up  by  the  whaler  Ravenscraig  near  Cape  York.  The 
story  of  the  separation  and  of  the  experiences  of  the 
castaways  follow.* 

Above  the  shining  waters  of  the  blue  and  historic 
Potomac  at  Washington  rise  the  oak-crowned  hills  of 
Arlington  where  repose  many  heroic  dead  in  our  Amer- 
ican Valhalla.  Side  by  side  in  almost  countless  rows 
stand  thousands  of  plain  white  stones  which  preserve 
for  coming  patriotic  generations  the  names  and  mem- 
ories of  those  who  died  for  the  Union.  Here  and  there 
the  prevailing  monotony  is  broken  by  a  more  ambitious 
monument  raised  by  family  or  by  friends.  These  men, 
inspired  by  patriotism  as  a  rule,  did  deeds  of  valor,  with 
weapons  in  hand,  in  the  face  of  an  armed  foe.  But  the 
men  of  the  American  nation  have  conquered  fate  in 
other  fields  than  those  of  war,  and  such  services  are 
elsewhere  commemorated  in  Washington.  In  the  Hall 
of  Fame  at  our  national  capital  each  American  State 
places  the  statues  of  its  two  most  distinguished  servi- 
tors— in  memory  of  deeds  done  for  the  good  and  the 
greatness  of  the  State.  And  near  by  the  Congressional 
Cemetery  contains  stately  shafts  and  memorial  col- 
umns that  mark  the  graves  of  other  men  famous  in 
national  annals  through  civic  worth. 

Yet  there  are  other  heroes  than  those  of  war  or  of 

*See  map,  page  95. 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     191 


civic  service  buried  within  sight  of  the  majestic  monu- 
ment to  Washington  or  of  the  graceful  dome  of  the 
Capitol.  In  the  shades  of  Greenwood  stands  a  plain 
shaft  of  black  marble  whereon  the  passer-by  may  read 
as  follows: 

"To  the  memory  of  an  arctic  hero,  Captain  George 
E,  Tyson,  1829-1906.  In  1872-73,  while  adrift  on  an 
ice-floe  196  days,  he  saved  the  lives  of  18  companions. 
They  serve  God  urll  zvho  serve  his  creatures. " 

Tliis  memorial,  built  through  small  contributions 
from  self-denying  men  of  meagre  means,  was  in  honor 
of  a  plain  man  of  small  education,  of  humble  occupation, 
who  loved  his  fellows.  It  therefore  seems  well  that 
the  tale  of  his  arctic  services  thus  recognized  should  be 
told  anew  to  the  rising  generation  of  Americans  that 
his  deeds  may  not  soon  fade  from  the  minds  of  men. 

The  fateful  disaster  of  October  15,  1872,  which  led  to 
the  Tyson  floe-drift  occurred  in  the  midst  of  a  dark 
winter  night  when  a  snow-filled  hurricane  wind  drove 
huge  icebergs  through  the  solid  and  seemingly  impene- 
trable ice-field  in  which  the  Polaris  was  fast  beset.  As 
if  by  magic  the  solemn,  quiet  calm  of  the  polar  night 
was  broken  by  a  series  of  tornado-like  gusts,  and  soon 
the  responsive  ice-field  quivered  as  though  upcast  b)' 
a  marine  earthquake.  The  bowlings  of  the  wind  were 
broken  by  horrible  groanings  from  the  moving  polar 
pack,  while  now  and  then  arose  deafening  sounds,  as  of 
a  cannonade,  from  the  explosions  of  the  ice-surface.  It 
takes  much  to  move  to  fear  men  long  in  arctic  service, 
but  the  quiet  ship  life  was  stirred  into  startled  action 


192  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

when  heavy  floes  near  the  ship  began  to  split  into  count- 
less fragments.  One  and  all  knew  that  the  long-dreaded 
peril  was  upon  them — the  disruption  of  the  polar  pack. 
For  weeks  they  had  watched  with  pleasure  the  changing 
lights  and  reflected  tints  from  their  azure-colored  neigh- 
bors— the  tall,  white  sentinels  of  the  arctic  seas.  After 
pleasure  the  pain,  and  now  with  terror  they  saw  the  pale 
blue  icebergs  of  enormous  size — wind-driven  and  slow- 
moving — plough  their  way  serenely  through  the  main 
pack  of  flat-topped  paleocrystic  floes  scores  of  feet  in 
thickness. 

Under  these  awful  pressures  the  huge  floes,  as  they 
met,  crumbling  at  the  edges,  threw  up  vast  masses  of 
broken  ice  which  in  long  pressure-ridges  acted  as  buflf- 
ers.  Caught  in  this  maelstrom  of  whirling,  upturning 
ice  the  Polaris  was  bodily  lifted  many  feet,  quite  out  of 
the  water,  so  that  she  careened  on  her  beam  ends. 

In  this  crisis,  amid  intense  excitement,  some  one  cried 
out  that  the  ship's  sides  were  broken  in  and  that  she 
was  making  water  freely.  At  this  Buddington  shouted : 
"Work  for  your  lives,  boys!  Throw  everything  over- 
board"— meaning  the  emergency  packages  of  stores 
and  provisions  which  for  weeks  had  been  kept  ready  on 
deck  in  view  of  possible  and  sudden  shipwreck.  Stores, 
clothing,  records,  boats,  food,  and  other  articles  were 

i 

frantically  cast  upon  the  main  floe  to  which  the  ship 
was  secured  by  ice-anchors.  Fearing  that  the  Polaris 
would  soon  sink  and  carry  down  in  her  final  plunge 
everything  near  her.  Captain  Tyson  busied  himself  in 
removing  and  piling  together,  at  a  safe  distance,  the 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     193 


scattered  stores.  While  thus  engaged  the  main  pack 
loosened  up  near  the  Polaris.  The  ice  pressures  slowly 
relaxed,  the  pressure-ridges  dropped  apart,  and  the 
ship,  slipping  down  into  the  sea,  dragged  her  ice- 
anchors,  broke  her  hawser,  and  was  driven  out  of  sight 
— disappearing  almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  as 
it  seemed  to  the  dazed  men  yet  on  the  floe. 

The  stranded  men  and  supplies  were  not  on  a  single 
floe,  but  scattered  on  several,  which  were  separated  by 
rapidly  widening  lanes  of  water.  Tyson  acted  with  de- 
cision and  promptness,  and  launching  a  whale-boat  at 
the  risk  of  his  life  succeeded  during  that  dark,  tempestu- 
ous night  in  bringing  together  the  nineteen  men,  women, 
and  children  on  the  immense  floe  to  which  the  ship 
had  been  anchored  for  weeks.  Here  the  exhausted 
party  huddled  together  under  some  musk-ox  skins, 
which  in  a  degree  protected  them  from  the  increasing 
southwest  bhzzard  that  then  prevailed;  but  dawn  found 
them  chilled  to  the  bone,  covered  with  the  heavy  snow- 
fall of  the  night.* 

Tyson  took  charge  and  at  once  decided  to  abandon 
the  floe  and  the  main  supplies,  knowing  that  the  party 
would  be  safe  if  it  could  reach  land  and  the  Etah 
Eskimos.  The  ice  had  so  drifted  that  the  shore  was 
within  a  few  miles,  and  the  party  in  an  attempt  to  reach 
it  was  hurried  into  the  boat,  which  unfortunately  had 

*  Of  this  situation  Hans  Hendrik,  in  his  "Memoirs,"  written  in  Eskimo, 
says:  "But  especially  I  pitied  my  poor  little  wife  and  her  children  in  the 
terrible  snow-storm.  I  began  thinking:  '  Have  I  searched  for  this  myself  by- 
travelling  to  the  north?  But  no!  we  have  a  merciful  Providence  to  watcU 
over  us.'  At  length  our  children  fell  asleep,  while  we  covered  them  with  ox- 
hides in  the  frightful  snow-drift." 


194  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

only  three  oars  and  was  rudderless.  Two  men  actually 
reached  the  land  over  the  ice,  on  a  scouting  trip,  but 
later  the  wind,  ice,  and  tides  were  so  adverse  that  Ty- 
son decided,  as  the  pack  closed  in  front  of  the  boat,  to 
return  to  their  original  floe. 

Although  sadly  reduced  in  size  by  the  action  of  the 
grinding  pack  and  by  the  ploughing  icebergs,  the 
flat-topped  floe-berg  was  still  enormous.  Nearly  cir- 
cular in  shape,  and  averaging  quite  a  hundred  feet  in 
thickness,  its  area  was  about  seven  square  miles. 
With  its  diversified  surface  of  hill  and  dale,  favored  by 
several  fresh-water  lakes,  and  of  marble-like  texture 
and  hardness  as  to  its  ice,  it  seemed  to  be  a  floe-berg  of 
such  solidity  and  extent  as  would  insure  safety  under 
any  and  all  conditions. 

The  castaways  numbered  nineteen  in  all — Captain 
Tyson,  Signal  Sergeant  Meyer,  eight  seamen,  and  nine 
Eskimos,  of  whom  seven  were  women  and  children. 
Except  Tyson  and  the  negro  cook  Jackson,  there  were 
no  Americans  in  the  party. 

With  the  foresight,  system,  and  judgment  which  in- 
sured the  final  safety  of  the  party,  Tyson  collected  the 
materials  scattered  over  the  several  floes,  inventoried 
and  provided  for  the  safety  of  the  food,  and  insisted  on 
a  fixed  ration.  Their  food  supplies  on  October  i8  con- 
sisted of  14  hams,  14  cans  of  pemmican,  12  bags  of 
bread,  i  can  of  dried  apples,  132  cans  of  meats  and 
soups,  and  a  small  bag  of  chocolate.  They  also  had  2 
whale-boats,  2  kayaks,  an  A-tent,  compasses,  chro- 
nometer, etc.,  rifles  and  ammunition. 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     195 


Food  was  of  surpassing  importance,  and  l}son  cal- 
culated that  the  supply  would  last  four  months  at  the 
rate  of  twelve  ounces  daily  to  each  adult,  the  Eskimo 
children  to  receive  half  rations. 

To  insure  an  equable  distribution  of  the  food,  Tyson 
took  charge  and  personally  measured  out  both  bread 
and  pemmican.  Later  he  was  able  to  give  exact 
w^eights  through  a  pair  of  improvised  scales.  They 
were  made  by  Meyer  most  ingeniously  of  a  lever  bal- 
ance taken  from  an  aneroid  barometer  and  connected 
with  a  three-cornered  rule;  the  weights  used  were  shot 
from  their  shot-gun  ammunition. 

The  foreigners  of  the  party,  except  the  docile  Eski- 
mos, were  not  thoroughly  amenable  to  command.  After 
Hall's  death  the  failings  of  the  sailing-master  in  com- 
mand, Captain  Buddington,  were  such  that  he  could 
not  maintain  proper  discipline,  and  hence  a  certain 
degree  of  demoralization  existed  among  the  seamen. 
The  rule  of  the  sea  that  loosens  bonds  and  makes 
seamen  free  from  service  on  the  loss  of  a  ship,  was  also 
injuriously  felt. 

As  a  result  Tyson's  powers  of  control  simply  arose 
from  his  high  character,  sound  judgment,  and  profes- 
sional knowledge.  His  orders  were  obeyed  as  seemed 
convenient,  but,  as  one  man  testified  under  oath, 
"When  we  didn't  [obey  his  orders]  we  found  out  it 
didn't  turn  out  well" — the  highest  of  praise. 

With  increasing  cold  the  tent  was  no  longer  habita- 
ble, and  it  became  necessary  to  provide  warm  shelter, 
which  was  done  through  the  building  of  igloos,  or  snow 


196  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

huts,  by  the  Eskimo  Ebierbing  (Joe)  and  Hans  Hendrik. 
Hans  and  his  family  of  six  built  their  igloo  a  little  apart 
from  the  others.  While  there  were  five  separate  igloos, 
they  were  thrown  into  close  connection  by  a  system  of 
arched  snow  passages  through  which  the  men  came  and 
went  without  exposure  to  the  weather.  Some  delay 
and  trouble  occurred  in  finding  suitable  drifts  of  packed 
snow  from  which  were  dexterously  carved  the  snow 
slabs  needful  for  the  huts.  The  very  low  entrances  to 
the  igloos  were  covered  by  a  canvas  flap  frozen  into 
the  outer  wall  so  as  to  exclude  almost  entirely  the  en- 
trance into  the  hut  of  either  cold  air  or  wind-driven 
snow.  Feeble  light  was  introduced  through  windows 
made  of  thin  slabs  of  fresh-water  ice  cut  from  an  adja- 
cent lake. 

From  the  entrance  the  canvas-covered  snow  floor 
sloped  gently  upward  to  the  rear  of  the  igloo,  thus 
making  that  portion  of  the  room  a  little  higher  and 
somewhat  warmer,  as  the  colder  air  flowed  down  to- 
ward the  door.  Their  scant  bedding  of  sleeping-bags 
and  musk-ox  skins  was  arranged  in  the  rear  of  the  hut, 
on  canvas-covered  boards,  where,  however,  the  arched 
snow  roof  was  near  the  head  of  the  sleeper.  The  only 
place  where  one  could  stand  erect  was  in  the  very  cen- 
tre of  the  hut,  where  the  separate  messes  cooked  their 
scanty  meals. 

Tyson  and  the  Eskimo  famihes  did  their  cooking 
from  the  first  by  lamp,  native-fashion,  the  lamps  being 
made  from  pemmican  cans  with  wicks  of  canvas  ravel- 
ings.     He  urged  the  others  to  follow  the  example  thus 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     197 

set,  telling  them  that  this  economical  method  was 
necessary  owing  to  scarcity  of  fuel.  The  seamen  tried 
it  for  a  while,  but  as  there  was  much  smoke  from  lack  of 
care  they  abandoned  the  lamp.  Despite  Tyson's  ad- 
vice, they  began,  with  reckless  disregard  for  the  future, 
to  break  up  the  smaller  of  the  two  boats  and  use  it  as 
fuel  for  cooking.  In  excuse  they  said  that  the  astro- 
nomical observations  and  opinions  of  Meyer  showed 
that  the  floe  was  drifting  toward  Disco,  Greenland, 
and  that  they  would  soon  reach  that  place  and  the 
occupancy  of  the  ice  camp  would  be  of  short  duration. 

On  October  27  the  sun  left  them  permanently  for 
three  months,  and  soon  the  bitter,  benumbing  cold  of 
the  arctic  winter  was  felt  by  all.  The  cold,  hunger,  and 
short  rations  soon  affected  both  body  and  mind, 
causing  less  bodily  activity  and  inducing  a  sharpness 
of  temper  which  often  led  to  long  and  angry  discus- 
sions among  the  seamen. 

An  unfortunate  loss  of  food  occurred  in  connection 
with  the  dogs,  all  nine  having  been  kept  for  bear- 
hunting.  Slowly  perishing  of  starvation,  the  wolfish 
dogs  succeeded  in  breaking  into  the  storehouse,  and 
devoured  everything  within  reach  before  they  were  dis- 
covered. Five  of  the  most  ravenous  brutes  w^ere  shot, 
greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  Eskimo,  who  made  a 
royal  feast.  The  white  men,  not  yet  reduced  to  ex- 
tremities, looked  on  with  amusement  as  their  native 
companions  with  luxurious  satisfaction  cooked  and 
swallowed  the  slaughtered  animals. 

Tyson's  experiences  as  a  whaler  made  him  realize 


198  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

that  the  only  chance  of  life  lay  in  obtaining  game,  and 
so  he  organized  and  encouraged  hunting-parties.  All 
the  men  were  armed  except  the  captain  himself,  but 
it  must  be  here  admitted  that  the  entire  crew  of  seamen 
did  not  obtain  enough  game,  during  the  drift  of  six 
months'  duration,  to  make  a  single  meal  for  the  party. 
The  successful  hunters  were  the  Eskimo,  Ebierbing 
(Joe)  being  most  successful,  though  Hans  Hendrik 
killed  many  seal. 

Once  Hans  barely  escaped  death  from  the  rifles  of 
Ebierbing  and  Seaman  Kruger,  as  in  the  darkness  they 
mistook  him  for  a  bear  owing  to  the  color  of  his  snow- 
covered  fur  clothing  and  to  the  lumbering  methods  by 
which  he  climbed  over  the  hummocky  ridges.  Fort- 
unately the  hunters  waited  for  a  better  shot,  and  mean- 
time saw  that  it  was  Hans. 

Matters  were  getting  bad  after  one  boat  had  been 
burned  and  there  was  no  blubber  left  for  cooking. 
Some  of  the  men  were  so  weak  that  they  trembled  as 
they  walked,  and  the  native  children  often  cried  from 
the  pangs  of  hunger.  Once  the  men  ate  the  seal  meat 
uncooked  and  undressed,  so  keen  was  their  hunger. 

As  no  bears  appeared,  seal-hunting  was  followed  with 
renewed  and  feverish  energy.  At  first  seal  were  killed 
in  open  water-spaces  around  the  edges  of  the  floe. 
When  the  extreme  cold  cemented  together  the  floes,  it 
was  necessary  to  hunt  carefully  for  seal-holes — places 
where  the  seal  comes  regularly  for  air,  keeping  the  hole 
open  by  his  nose,  rising  and  breaking  the  new  ice  as  it 
forms  from  day  to  day. 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     199 

Such  holes  are  only  three  or  four  inches  across,  and 
it  often  requires  long  search  before  the  trained  eye  of 
the  seal-hunter  locates  a  breathing  space.  Even  then 
unwearied  patience  and  great  skill  are  needful  for  suc- 
cessful hunting.  Seated  by  the  hole,  with  his  back  to 
the  wind,  his  feet  on  a  bit  of  seal-skin,  with  a  barbed 
spear  in  his  hand,  the  Inuit  hunter  steadily  and  in- 
tently fastens  his  eyes  on  the  glazed  water-space  where 
the  animal  rises.  Often  it  is  hours  before  the  seal  comes, 
if  indeed  at  all,  and  he  is  caught  only  through  a  swift, 
single  stroke  by  w^hich  the  spear  unerringly  pierces  the 
thin  skull  of  the  animal.  Five  seals  were  killed  during 
November,  and  Thanksgiving  day  was  celebrated  by 
adding  to  the  usual  meal  a  little  chocolate  and  some 
dried  apples. 

The  moral  attitude  of  the  greater  number  of  the  sea- 
men was  evident  from  several  incidents.  On  Thanks- 
giving day  the  captain  suggested  that  all  unite  in  some 
religious  service  appropriate  to  the  day  and  to  their 
situation,  but  the  seamen  were  unwilling  to  participate. 

In  marked  contrast  were  the  feelings  of  the  Inuit 
Hans  Hendrik,  who  thus  writes:  "I  considered  the 
miserable  condition  of  my  wife  and  children,  on  a  piece 
of  ice  in  the  mid-ocean,  then  I  pronounced  my  prayer: 

Jesti,  lead  me  by  the  hand. 
While  I  am  here  below; 
Forsake  me  not. 

With  bad  judgment  Meyer,  who  was  an  under- 
officer,  left  Tyson's  hut  and  joined  the  seamen — mostly 


200  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Germans  like  himself.  As  a  result  of  the  growing 
demoralization,  incursions  were  made  on  the  food  by 
unknown  persons,  and  when  Tyson  was  one  day  sick 
a  seaman  made  the  issues  and  then  decided  to  retain 
this  duty.  There  had  been  complaint  that  Tyson  was 
too  stingy  in  his  issues,  and  the  new  issuing  officer  gave 
with  freer  hand  in  accord  with  the  wishes  of  the  heedless 
few. 

Tyson  was  then  driven  to  leave  his  lonely  hut  for  the 
igloo  wherein  lived  Ebierbing  and  his  worthy  wife 
TookooHto  (Hannah)  and  their  young  adopted  daugh- 
ter. This  hut  was  the  very  centre  of  activity  on  the 
floe.  Apart  from  the  time  needful  for  cooking,  Too- 
koolito  busied  herself  either  in  deftly  mending  the  torn 
and  sadly  worn  skin  garments  of  her  husband  and  of 
Tyson,  or  in  making  some  article  that  would  add  to  the 
general  comfort  and  be  of  daily  use.  Thus  the  party 
was  divided  into  two  camps,  one  of  care  and  produc- 
tion, the  other  of  amusement  and  consumption.  Ebier- 
bing kept  the  field  daily,  and  his  success  as  a  hunter 
proved  to  be  the  salvation  of  the  party.  Hans  did  what 
he  could,  it  is  true,  but  he  was  either  less  skilful  or  less 
fortunate  than  his  native  companion.  The  crew  did 
almost  nothing  save  to  cook  the  food  given  them. 
They  scarcely  took  exercise  and  filled  in  their  time  with 
endless  discussions  as  to  the  future  or  with  a  pack  of 
cards  made  out  of  heavy  paper.  Tyson  controlled  the 
Eskimos  alone,  and  gave  advice  to  the  men  only  as  oc- 
casion urgently  demanded. 

The  winter  month  of  December  passed  badly,  with 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     201 


increasing  darkness,  severer  cold,  and  despondent  feel- 
ings. The  poor  natives,  hearing  so  much  desperate 
talk,  unfortunately  gained  the  notion  that  in  the  last 
extremity,  which  then  seemed  to  be  at  hand,  they 
would  be  sacrificed,  and  much  uneasiness  was  felt  by 
Tyson  who  strove  to  reassure  them.  Two  wretchedly 
thin  foxes,  giving  about  three  ounces  of  fresh  meat  to 
each  man,  was  the  only  game  up  to  Christmas,  and 
nothing  was  encouraging  except  the  steady  drift  to 
the  south. 

The  captain  felt  it  best  to  give  a  starvation  feast  on 
Christmas,  and  so  added  to  the  usual  ration  the  last 
remaining  delicacies — a  bit  of  frozen  ham,  a  few  spoon- 
fuls of  dried  apples,  and  a  swallow  or  two  of  seal  blood 
saved  in  a  frozen  condition.  The  knowledge  that  the 
sun  was  returning,  of  southing  being  made  by  drift,  and 
chances  of  game  increasing  were  conditions  of  hope 
that  made  it  an  almost  cheerful  holiday. 

Actually  they  were  in  desperate  straits  of  hunger, 
for  Tyson  relates  that  in  his  igloo  they  ate  greedily 
the  refuse  of  the  cooking-lamp  oil.  Tookoolito  turned 
into  food  and  cooked  pieces  of  dried  seal-skin  which 
had  been  set  aside  for  repairing  their  clothing.  Of  this 
Tyson  says:  "It  was  so  very  tough  it  made  my  jaws 
ache  to  chew  it." 

Day  after  day,  in  storm  and  in  calm,  faithful  Ebierbing 
kept  the  field,  always  hoping  for  success  on  the  morrow. 
After  thirty-six  days  of  unsuccess  he  killed  a  seal  in  the 
open  sea.  Shot  through  the  brain,  the  seal  floated  un- 
til he  could  be  reached  bv  that  wonderful  skin  boat  of 


202  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

the  Eskimos — the  kayak.  Then  land  shot  up  into  view 
to  the  southwestward,  and  all  felt  that  they  were  saved. 

The  new  year  of  1873  opened  in  dreary  form,  with 
no  game,  and  a  dinner  of  two  mouldy  biscuit  with  seal 
entrails  and  blubber  served  frozen,  as  their  fuel  was 
gone.  The  improvident  seamen  had  not  only  burned 
one  boat,  but  even  the  boards  under  their  sleeping- 
robes.  Compelled  at  last  by  dire  need,  they  now  made 
a  lamp  from  an  old  can  and  began  to  cook  Eskimo- 
fashion.  Most  of  the  time  the  seamen  passed  idly 
in  their  igloo,  quarrelling  and  disputing.  In  their  ill- 
clad,  half-starved  condition  they  suffered  terribly  from 
the  severe  and  prolonged  cold  of  January,  during  which 
the  mercury  was  often  frozen,  with  occasional  tem- 
peratures seventy  degrees  below  freezing.  Hopes  of 
relief  were  high  when  a  bear  was  found  near,  and  then 
came  a  feeling  of  despair  when  the  animal  escaped 
after  injuring  badly  the  two  remaining  dogs. 

Affairs  then  went  from  bad  to  worse,  and  the  utter 
disruption  of  the  party  was  imminent,  although  Ty- 
son used  to  the  utmost  his  powers  of  command  over 
the  natives  and  of  persuasion  with  the  seamen.  An 
unruly  and  mutinous  member  of  the  crew  invaded 
Tyson's  igloo,  roundly  abused  the  captain,  and  even 
threatened  him  with  personal  violence,  well  knowing 
that  he  was  unarmed.  The  evil  effects  of  such  conduct 
was  so  plain  to  all  that  the  culprit  was  forced  by  public 
opinion  to  make  an  apology  for  his  actions  and  thus 
in  a  manner  to  strengthen  Tyson's  hands  in  the  future. 

After  an  absence  of  eighty-three  days  the  sun  re- 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     203 

turned  on  January  19,  which  gave  new  courage  to  the 
natives  and  increased  chances  of  game.  When  they 
killed  a  seal  after  many  days  of  hunting,  the  starving 
seamen,  almost  crazy  at  the  sight  of  food,  dragged  the 
animal  into  their  own  igloo  and  gave  to  the  hunters 
only  a  small  and  unfair  part  of  the  meat  and  blubber. 
With  difficulty  Tyson  was  able  to  mollify  the  offended 
natives,  by  whom  this  injustice  was  the  more  felt  as 
Tobias,  one  of  Hans's  babies,  was  quite  sick  and  could 
not  eat  pemmican. 

February  opened  with  ten  days  of  fruitless  hunting, 
when  Hans  fortunately  saw  a  seal  thrust  his  head  up 
through  young  ice  far  from  the  floe.  Would  he  come 
again?  Could  he  kill  him  at  that  distance,  and  was  it 
possible  to  bring  him  in.'  While  asking  himself  these 
questions,  with  his  eyes  intent  on  the  air-hole,  the  nose 
and  then  the  head  of  the  seal  rose  slowly  into  view.  On 
this  shot  might  depend  their  lives,  and  with  the  care  and 
slowness  of  the  Inuit  hunter,  half-starved  Hans,  with 
steady  hand  and  unerring  aim,  sent  a  bullet  through  the 
brain  of  the  seal,  paralyzing  him  and  thus  keeping  the 
air  in  the  seal's  lungs  and  floating  his  body.  As  the 
thin  new  ice  would  not  bear  a  man,  Tyson  solved  the 
difficulty  by  putting  Hans  in  his  kayak  and  pushing 
him  forward  as  far  as  could  be  done.  With  his  paddle 
braced  against  rough  bits  of  the  floe  and  by  squirming 
his  body,  Hans  finally  reached  the  seal,  fastened  a  line 
to  it,  and  worked  his  way  back  in  the  kayak. 

With  food  failing  again  and  the  revival  of  the 
selfish    spirit   of    every    man    for  himself,  Tyson's  lot 


204  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

was  hard  and  he  knew  not  what  would  happen  from 
day  to  day.  Always  quiet  and  cool,  he  spoke  only 
when  there  was  need,  and  never  with  harsh  tones  or 
angry  words.  He  did  not  waste  his  force  on  matters 
of  minor  importance — an  attitude  that  carried  weight 
in  the  end. 

When  almost  in  despair  there  came  seal  after  seal, 
and  scores  of  arctic  dovekies,  or  little  auks  in  winter 
plumage.  Though  each  of  the  birds  gave  but  four 
ounces  of  meat,  they  were  welcomed  both  as  a  change 
of  diet  and  as  harbingers  of  coming  spring.  The  sea- 
men then  listened  to  Tyson's  advice  and  decided  to 
eke  out  life  on  one  meal  a  day,  owing  to  the  fast- 
vanishing  stock  of  bread  and  pemmican. 

Cape  Mercy,  in  about  65  north  latitude,  was  now 
in  sight  though  forty  miles  distant.  Some  of  the  men 
were  ready  to  heartlessly  abandon  the  natives,  owing 
to  the  smallness  of  the  sole  remaining  boat,  but  Tyson 
said  tactfully  that  all  could  go  (not  must  go)  when  the 
water  was  ice-free.  Preparations  were  made,  the  tent 
enlarged  from  spare  canvas,  the  ammunition  divided, 
etc.,  but  ice  conditions  grew  worse  instead  of  better. 

March  opened  with  a  violent  storm,  which  kept  all 
in  their  igloos  save  the  indefatigable  hunters.  Then 
Ebierbing  shot  a  monster  harp  seal  about  nine  feet 
long,  the  largest  that  Tyson  had  ever  seen,  which  gave 
about  seven  hundred  pounds  of  its  rich,  nutritious  meat 
and  blubber.  So  delirious  were  the  quite  starved  sea- 
men that  they  rushed  at  the  body,  carved  out  pieces 
and  ate  them  raw,  soon  being  so  frightfully  besmeared 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     205 

v/ith  blood  that  they  looked  like  ravenous  brutes  de- 
vouring their  prey.  The  heedless  men,  who  turned  to 
Tyson  in  all  cases  of  dire  distress,  now  ignored  his  ad- 
vice not  to  eat  the  liver  of  the  seal,  and  paid  for  their 
imprudence  by  fits  of  sickness,  fortunately  not  fatal. 

With  a  persistent,  fatuitous  belief  that  they  would 
drift  to  Disco,  the  seamen  were  first  aroused  to  the  ex- 
treme seriousness  of  their  situation  by  a  most  violent 
gale  of  sixty  hours  in  which  they  barely  escaped  death. 
As  has  been  said,  their  igloos  were  built  near  the  centre 
of  an  enormous  floe  nearly  a  hundred  feet  in  thickness 
and  fifteen  miles  in  circumference.  When  the  storm 
began  the  sea  seemed  covered  by  floes  of  similar  size 
and  of  equally  unbreakable  ice.  The  party  again  failed 
to  have  in  mind  the  many  insecure  and  dangerous  ice- 
bergs which  dotted  the  ice-plain  that  covered  the  sea. 
Throughout  the  first  night  the  cracking  and  breaking 
of  the  floes  sounded  like  the  firing  of  heavy  artillery  and 
the  explosion  of  high-powered  shells.  Under  stress  of 
anxiety  the  men  passed  the  second  night  dressed  and 
ready  for  the  worst. 

The  howling  of  the  gale,  the  snow-filled  air  making 
everything  invisible,  the  recurring  roar  of  the  sea,  the 
sound  of  splitting  floes  within  a  few  yards  of  the  igloos, 
and  the  awful  moaning  of  the  moving  pack  around  them, 
with  the  steady  grinding  of  colliding  bergs,  made  it  a 
night  of  horrors.  With  the  gale  ended  they  found 
themselves  saved  almost  as  by  miracle,  for  though  their 
igloos  were  safe  in  the  centre  of  a  tiny  fragment  of  the 
great  floe,  its  area  was  less  than  a  hundred  square  yards. 


2o6  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Surrounding  them  were  hundreds  of  icebergs  and  huge 
floes  of  all  sizes  and  shapes  inextricably  entangled  and 
disrupted.  Yesterday  they  could  walk  miles  on  their 
own  floe,  now  they  were  confined  to  a  floe-fragment. 

Dangerous  as  was  the  gale  it  brought  about  their 
safety,  for  the  open  pack  made  seal-hunting  more  pro- 
ductive. The  twenty-three  seals  which  were  killed  dur- 
ing the  succeeding  two  weeks  gave  needful  food,  revived 
their  courage,  and  renewed  their  strength.  Tyson  then 
arranged  to  save  for  emergencies  their  little  remaining 
bread  and  pemmican.  As  they  were  now  off  the  en- 
trance to  Hudson  Strait,  on  the  breeding  grounds  of  the 
seal,  their  safety  as  regards  food  seemed  to  be  assured. 
But  another  gale  brought  fresh  and  unlooked-for 
disaster,  for  while  they  collided  with  a  large  iceberg 
without  destruction  they  were  driven  far  to  the  east- 
ward, into  the  open  ocean,  where  their  floe  was  by  itself 
away  from  the  main  ice,  with  only  water  in  sight. 

Tyson  knew  that  separation  from  the  icebergs  and 
floes  meant  speedy  death,  and  as  soon  as  the  sea  calmed, 
April  I,  he  ordered  the  party  to  prepare  for  the  aban- 
donment of  the  floe.  Many  objected  to  leaving  their 
comfortable  igloos,  with  plenty  of  meat,  to  seek  ice  so 
far  to  the  west  that  it  could  not  be  seen,  but  they  finally 
obeyed  Tyson's  orders. 

The  short-sightedness  of  the  seamen  in  burning  a  boat 
was  now  evident  to  all.  There  were  nineteen  persons 
to  be  crowded  into  a  whale-boat  intended  for  eight. 
Some  of  the  selfish  would  have  left  the  natives  behind, 
for  taking  them  meant  the  leaving  behind  of  nearly  all 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     207 

meat  and  other  dead  weights.  Bread,  pemmican,  some 
ammunition,  the  tent,  and  sleeping-gear  were  put  in  the 
boat,  and  with  a  spirit  of  loyalty  criticised  by  the  sea- 
men, Tyson  took  on  board  the  desk  and  records  of 
Captain  Hall.  If  this  man  lived  it  would  be  with 
honor;  if  he  died  it  should  be  with  his  self-respect.  The 
fearfully  overcrowded  boat  barely  escaped  swamping 
several  times — saved  only  through  Tyson's  skilful  sea- 
manship. Some  men  were  so  alarmed  that  in  panic 
they  threw  overboard  seal  meat  to  lighten  the  boat. 
Three  days  of  unremitting  labor  brought  them  to  a  floe 
that  seemed  solid,  which  they  occupied  in  face  of  bad 
weather. 

They  had  barely  put  up  igloos  when  an  awful  gale 
burst  on  them,  and  for  four  days  it  was  a  steady  battle 
against  death.  Their  floe  began  to  crumble  under  press- 
ure from  other  bergs,  and  Ebierbing's  hut  w^as  carried 
oflF  as  the  floe  split.  Seeking  the  centre  of  the  ice  they 
built  a  new  igloo,  which  lasted  for  the  night  only. 
Next  day  the  floe,  caught  between  two  giant  bergs, 
burst  with  a  mighty  roar,  splitting  completely  in  two, 
the  crack  running  through  the  floor  of  the  igloo.  They 
were  left  on  a  piece  of  ice  so  small  that  they  could 
not  make  arrangements  for  all  to  lie  down  together. 
Everything  was  put  into  the  boat,  and  all  through  the 
night  they  stood  watch,  half-and-half,  ready  to  launch 
her  at  a  moment's  notice.  Again  the  floe  split  while 
breakfast  was  being  cooked  in  the  tent,  the  crack  run- 
ning through  the  tent;  the  cook  escaped  but  the  break- 
fast fell   into   the  sea.     The   tent  was   again   pitched 


2o8  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

alongside  the  whale-boat.     The  tent  could  not  shelter 
all  the  party,  but  by  turns  they  got  a  little  sleep. 

About  midnight  there  was  heard  a  fearful  crash,  and, 
as  Hans  relates,  "The  ice  which  served  us  as  a  camping- 
place  parted  between  the  boat  on  which  I  slept  and 
the  tent.  I  jumped  out  to  the  other  side,  while  that 
piece  on  which  the  boat  was  placed  moved  off  quickly 
with  Mister  Maje  [Meyer]  who  was  seated  in  the  boat, 
and  we  were  separated  from  it  by  the  water.  Our 
Master  [Tyson]  asked  the  sailors  to  make  a  boat  out  of 
a  piece  of  ice  and  try  to  reach  it,  but  they  refused.  We 
had  never  felt  so  distressed  as  at  this  moment,  when  we 
had  lost  our  boat.  At  last  I  said  to  my  comrade  [Ebier- 
bing] :  'JVe  must  try  to  get  at  it!'  Each  of  us  then  formed 
an  umiardluk  [a  bad  boat]  out  of  a  piece  of  ice,  and  in 
this  wa}^  passed  to  the  other  fragment.  As  now  we  were 
three  men  we  could  manage  to  put  the  boat  into  the 
water.  On  doing  so  Mister  Maje  [Meyer]  fell  into  the 
sea;  Ebierbing  pulled  him  up.  Meanwhile  the  ice  had 
screwed  together,  and  we  stood  still.  At  this  time 
night  fell,  and  our  companion  who  had  been  in  the  sea, 
now  lying  in  the  boat,  was  like  to  freeze  to  death.  I 
said  to  my  comrade  that  if  he  remained  so  he  would 
really  die.  When  I  had  spoken  we  asked  him  to  rise, 
saying  that  if  he  remained  he  would  perish.  The  first 
time  he  rose  he  tumbled  down,  but,  after  having  walked 
a  long  time,  he  recovered.  At  daybreak  we  discovered 
our  friends  close  by,  and  the  ice  joined  together.  They 
came  to  us  and  assisted  us  to  drag  the  boat  over  to 
them." 


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Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     209 

The  crucial  trial  on  the  evening  of  April  20  may  best 
be  realized  from  Tyson's  graphic  description:  "Finally 
came  a  tremendous  wave,  carrying  away  our  tent,  skins, 
and  bed-clothing,  leaving  us  destitute.  The  women 
and  children  were  already  in  the  boat  (Merkut  having 
her  tiny  baby  Charlie  Polaris,  Inuit-fashion,  in  the 
hood  of  her  fur  jacket),  or  the  little  ones  would  have 
been  swept  into  watery  graves.  All  we  could  do  was  to 
try  and  save  the  boat.  All  hands  were  called  to  man 
the  boat — to  hold  on  to  it  with  might  and  main  to 
prevent  it  being  washed  away.  With  our  boat  warp 
and  strong  line  of  oogjook  (seal)  thongs  we  secured  the 
boat  to  vertical  projecting  points  of  ice.  Having  no 
grapnels  or  ice-anchors  these  fastenings  were  frequently 
unloosed  and  broken,  and  we  had  to  brace  ourselves 
and  hold  on  with  all  the  strength  we  had. 

"  I  got  the  boat  over  to  the  edge  of  our  ice  where  the 
seas  first  struck,  for  toward  the  farther  edge  the  gath- 
ered momentum  of  the  waves  would  more  than  master 
us  and  the  boat  would  go.  .  .  .  We  were  nearly  carried 
off,  boat  and  all,  many  times  during  this  dreadful  night. 
The  heaviest  seas  came  at  intervals  of  fifteen  to  twenty 
minutes.  .  .  .  There  we  stood  all  night  long,  from  9 
p.  M.  to  7  A.  M.,  enduring  what  few,  if  any,  have  gone 
through  and  lived.  Tremendous  seas  would  come  and 
lift  up  the  boat  bodily,  and  carry  it  and  us  forward 
almost  to  the  extreme  opposite  edge  of  our  piece. 

"Several  times  the  boat  got  partly  over  the  edge  and 
was  only  hauled  back  by  the  superhuman  strength 
which  a  knowledge  of  the  desperate  condition  its  loss 


2IO  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

would  reduce  us  to  gave  us.  With  almost  every  sea 
would  come  an  avalanche  of  ice-blocks  in  all  sizes,  from 
a  foot  square  to  the  size  of  a  bureau,  which,  striking  our 
legs  and  bodies,  bowled  us  off  our  feet.  We  were  black 
and  blue  with  bruises  for  many  a  day. 

"  We  stood  hour  after  hour,  the  sea  as  strong  as  ever, 
but  we  weakening.  Before  morning  we  had  to  make 
Tookoolito  and  Merkut  [the  women]  get  out  and  help 
us  hold  on  too.  .  .  .  That  was  the  greatest  fight  for  life 
we  had  yet  had.  God  must  have  given  us  strength  for 
the  occasion.  For  twelve  hours  there  was  scarcely  a 
sound  uttered  save  the  crying  of  the  children  and  my 
orders:  Hold  on!  Bear  down!  Put  on  all  your 
weight  !  '  and  the  responsive  ay,  ay,  sir  !  '  which  for 
once  came  readily  enough." 

These  awful  experiences  past,  they  were  rescued  ten 
days  later,  off  the  coast  of  Labrador,  by  Captain 
Bartlett  of  the  sealing-steamer  Tigress.  They  had 
lived  on  an  ice-floe  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  days  and 
drifted  fifteen  hundred  miles.  Through  God's  provi- 
dence they  were  restored  to  the  world  in  health  and 
without  the  loss  of  a  life  or  even  of  a  limb. 

His  work  accomplished,  the  heroic  sailor,  Tyson,  went 
back  to  the  every-day  things  of  life  without  parade  or 
boastings,  and  in  an  humble  position  did  well  and  con- 
tentedly the  ordinary  round  of  work. 

In  the  difficult  and  dangerous  arctic  service  herein 
told  Tyson  did  from  day  to  day  what  seemed  his 
present  duty  as  best  he  could  without  thought  of  self. 
Without  other  ambition  than  to  save  the  lives  of  the 


Marvellous  Ice-Drift  of  Captain  Tyson     211 

men,  the  women,  and  the  children  whom  Providence  had 
intrusted  to  his  charge,  he  did  not  seek  but  he  found 
fame  and  good  report.  Let  the  youth  of  our  great  land 
note  that  this  is  but  one  of  the  many  cases  in  our  day 
and  generation  in  which,  as  Tennyson  sings: 

"  Let  his  great  example  stand, 
Till  in  all  lands  and  thro'  all  human  story 
The  path  of  duty  be  the  path  of  glory." 


THE  SAVING  OF  PETERSEN 


THE  SAVING  OF  PETERSEN 

"Only  action  gives  life  strength." 

—  RiCHTER. 

IN  1875  the  British  arctic  expedition  steamed 
northward  through  Kane  Sea  in  its  attempt  to 
reach  the  north  pole.  Its  commander,  Captain 
George  S.  Nares,  R.N.,  thought  it  prudent  to  insure  a 
safe  retreat  by  estabHshing  a  southerly  base  of  opera- 
tions where  one  ship  should  remain.  Nares,  in  the 
flag-ship  Alerty  chose  the  dangerous  and  exposed  winter 
quarters  at  Floeberg  Beach,  an  open  roadstead  of  the 
ice-clad  Arctic  Ocean  at  the  northern  entrance  of 
Robeson  Channel.  The  Discovery,  under  command  of 
Captain  S.  F.  Stephenson,  R.N.,  was  laid  up  at  a  shel- 
tered anchorage  in  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  to  the  southward  of  the  Alert.  An  at- 
tempt to  open  communication  between  the  two  ships 
by  sledge  party  failed  in  the  autumn  of  1875.  With 
the  return  of  the  sun  in  1876,  after  an  absence  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  days,  it  became  most  important 
to  establish  communication  with  the  Discovery  at  the 
earliest  moment.  From  the  Alert  there  was  visible  far 
to  the  eastward,  on  clear  days,  the  mountains  of  north- 
west Greenland,  which  Nares  wished  Stephenson  to 
explore  instead  of  making  a  sledge  trip  to  the  Etah 
Eskimos  to  the  south  as  originally  planned.    The  heroic 

215 


2i6  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

conduct  of  the  officers  attempting  this  journey  and 
their  success  in  saving  the  Ufe  of  Petersen  are  set  forth 
in  this  tale. 

The  efficiency  of  every  army  and  of  every  navy  of 
the  world  is  known  only  by  the  final  and  supreme  test 
of  active  service  in  war,  but  it  is  plain  that  the  essential 
attributes  to  success — skill,  solidarity,  and  devotion 
to  duty — are  acquired  in  times  of  peace.  Nowhere  are 
greater  efforts  made  to  cultivate  these  admirable  qual- 
ities than  in  the  royal  navy  of  Great  Britain,  the  most 
formidable  of  the  world. 

Among  its  chiefs  is  the  second  naval  lord,  whose 
duties  lie  especially  with  the  hearts  of  oak,  the  men  be- 
hind the  guns,  whose  courage  and  skill  are  the  very 
soul  of  the  service.  The  second  naval  lord  has  in 
charge  the  manning  and  officering  of  the  war-ships;  he 
plans  the  bringing  together  at  a  special  place  and  in  a 
given  time  the  mighty  dreadnoughts,  the  tiny  torpedo- 
boats,  the  swaying  submarines,  and  the  swift  destroy- 
ers; and  he  sees  that  gunnery,  marksmanship,  and 
other  special  training  are  up  to  the  highest  mark. 
Such  a  lord  should,  above  all,  be  a  man  among  men — 
one  inspiring  confidence  both  by  knowing  when  and  how 
times  of  peril  should  be  met  and  also  through  having 
himself  done  such  service  in  earlier  life. 

Such  is  the  life  history  of  Admiral  Sir  George  Le 
Clerc  Egerton,  who,  passing  from  a  high  sea  command  to 
duty  as  the  naval  aid  to  his  majesty  the  King,  rose  a  few 
years  since  to  this  lofty  station  and  assumed   its   im- 


The  Saving  of  Petersen 


217 


portant  duties.  Great  as  may  be  the  respect  and  high 
as  can  be  the  admiration  of  the  world  for  efficient  per- 
formance of  pubHc  duties  by  officials  of  high  station, 
yet  the  hearts  of  sympathetic,  tender-hearted  men  and 


Robeson  Channel  and  Lady  Franklin  Bay, 


women  are  more  deeply  moved  whenever  and  where- 
ever  they  hear  a  tale  of  self-sacrifice  and  of  heroic 
comradeship.  Such  is  the  story  of  this  great  naval  lord, 
enacted  by  him  as  a  sub-lieutenant  far  from  the  civilized 
world,  on  the  ice-bound  coast  of  a  desolate  arctic  land, 
for  the  safety  of  an  humble  dog  driver.     The  nobler  the 


2i8  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

heart  the  greater  is  its  sense  of  duty  to  helpless  de- 
pendents in  deep  distress.  And  more  heroic  was  the 
work  of  Lieutenant  Egerton,  flying  his  sledge  flag, 
*'  Tanq  je  puis  (All  that  I  can),"  than  an}'-  done  under 
his  stately  flag  as  a  naval  lord  or  as  admiral  of  the  fleet. 

When  Captain  Nares  looked  longingly  southward 
from  his  ship  on  the  Arctic  Ocean,  wishing  in  his  heart 
for  word  of  his  assistant,  he  was  not  blind  to  the  dangers 
and  diflBiCulties  of  the  journey.  The  preceding  Septem- 
ber gallant  Lieutenant  Rawson  with  strength  and  cour- 
age had  pressed  on  to  Cape  Rawson.  The  precipitous 
cliffs  there  made  a  farther  journey  by  land  impossible, 
while  the  half-open  sea  was  covered  with  a  shifting, 
ever-moving  ice-pack  that  made  the  ocean  as  impassa- 
ble for  a  boat  as  the  ice  was  for  a  sledge. 

Now  in  late  winter  the  surface  of  Robeson  Channel 
was  covered  by  a  soHd,  unmoving  pack,  but  the  cold 
was  so  intense  that  it  could  be  endured  in  the  field  only 
by  men  of  iron.  Day  after  day  the  temperature  was 
eighty  degrees  below  the  freezing-point,  and  even  when 
it  should  moderate  the  travelling  party  must  be  care- 
fully chosen.  Rawson  was  to  go  as  a  passenger,  for 
his  ship  was  the  Discovery  to  which  he  was  now  to  re- 
turn. Of  all  available  officers  Egerton  seemed  to  have 
physical  and  mental  qualities  that  promised  well. 
Naturally  the  dog  driver — for  they  were  to  travel  with 
a  dog-sledge — would  have  been  Eskimo  Frederick.  In 
this  emergency  Niels  Christian  Petersen  off"ered  his  ser- 
vices, claiming  that  his  arctic  experiences  and  powers 
of  endurance  fitted  him  for  such  a  journey.     A  Dane  by 


The  Saving  of  Petersen  219 


birth,  his  years  of  service  in  Greenland  had  made  him 
a  skilled  dog  driver,  and  experiences  with  Dr.  Hayes  in 
his  expedition  of  i860  had  made  him  familiar  with 
field  service.  A  vigorous  man  of  forty  years,  he  seemed 
the  best  of  the  three  sledgemen  for  stanch  endurance  in 
such  ice  and  weather. 

Nares  said  in  his  letter  of  instructions:  "In  perform- 
ing this  duty  in  the  present  cold  weather,  with  the 
temperature  more  than  seventy-seven  degrees  below 
freezing,  great  caution  is  necessary."  The  date  of  de- 
parture was  originally  fixed  for  March  4,  1876,  the  day 
on  which  the  retiring  sun  was  first  clearly  seen  above  the 
southern  hills  at  11.30  a.  m.  The  cold  was  intense, 
being  one  hundred  and  one  degrees  below  the  freezing- 
point.  Whiskey  placed  on  the  floe  froze  hard  in  a  few 
minutes.  Egerton's  departure  was  therefore  postponed 
until  the  prolonged  cold  ended  eight  days  later. 

Meantime  it  was  clear  that  such  awful  temperatures 
would  seriously  affect  the  dogs,  who  were  suffering  in 
short  exercise  marches  from  the  action  of  the  intense 
cold  on  the  sharp,  sand-like  snow  particles — all  sepa- 
rate. Nares  relates  that  in  crossing  the  trails  of  the 
dogs  near  the  ship  he  "noticed,  lying  on  the  floe,  numer- 
ous frozen  pellets  of  blood  which  always  form  between 
the  toes  of  these  animals  when  working  during  severely 
cold  weather.  The  heat  of  the  foot  causes  the  snow  to 
ball;  this  soon  changes  into  ice,  and  collecting  between 
the  toes  cuts  into  the  flesh.  On  board  of  the  Resolute 
in  1853  we  endeavored  to  fit  our  dogs  with  blanket  pads 
on  their  feet,   but  these  were  found   to  increase  the 


220  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

mischief  by  first  becoming  damp  and  then  freezing, 
when  the  hardened  blanket  cut  into  the  sinews  at  the 
back  of  the  dogs'  legs."* 

On  March  12,  1876,  Petersen  threw  forward  the  long 
flexible  lash  of  his  Eskimo  whip,  calling  sharply  to  the 
waiting  dogs,  and  the  party  dashed  off  in  a  temperature 
of  minus  thirty  degrees.  Petersen,  Rawson,  and  Eger- 
ton  took  turns  on  the  sledge,  one  riding  at  a  time. 
The  others  ran  behind  the  sledge,  holding  fast  each  to 
one  of  the  upstanders.f 

The  dogs  ran  freely  with  their  very  light  load  of 
fifty-one  pounds  per  animal,  for  a  full  load  would  be 
about  one  hundred  pounds  for  each  dog.  An  hour's 
travel  in  a  cross  wind — filled  with  the  fine  drift  of  sand- 
like snow  so  common  in  the  arctic — made  them  all 
put  on  their  blinkers  (face-protectors  against  the  cold, 
made  of  carpeting  material)  to  keep  their  faces  from 
freezing  solid.  Every  care  was  taken  by  the  watchful 
Egerton  to  guard  against  frost-bites.  Each  quarter  of 
an  hour  he  stopped  the  sledge  for  a  moment,  when  each 
sledgeman  examined  the  faces  of  his  comrades.  When- 
ever a  whitish  spot  was  seen,  the  warm  palm  of  the 
bare  hand  was  placed  against  the  frozen  flesh  v/hich  at 
once  thaws.  J 

*  In  my  own  expedition  we  shod  our  dogs  for  travel  in  very  cold  weather 
with  neatly  fitting,  thin,  oil-tanned  seal-skin  shoes.  Though  a  shoe  was 
occasionally  lost,  as  they  had  to  be  tied  on  loosely,  the  feet  of  the  dogs 
were  well  protected. 

t  The  upstanders  are  stout  poles  rising  from  the  extreme  rear  of  the  sledge 
by  which  the  driver  is  able  to  steer  or  direct  the  course  of  the  sledge  itself. 

X  The  rubbing  of  frozen  places  with  snow,  so  often  recommended,  is  most 
injurious  in  the  extreme  north.     In  my  own  expedition  it  was  once  suggested 


The  Saving  of  Petersen  221 

As  closely  as  possible  Egerton  followed  the  favorite 
line  of  travel,  along  the  high  ice-foot  of  the  bold  shore, 
inside  or  outside  as  conditions  required.  This  name 
is  given  to  the  ice-ledge  which  forms  by  gradual  accre- 
tion on  the  rocks  or  earth  of  the  shore.  As  the  main 
sea  ice  rises  and  falls  with  the  tides,  the  ice  necessarily 
breaks  near  the  shore;  the  inner,  fast-adhering  ice  is 
known  as  the  ice-foot,  the  outer  ice  as  the  main  pack 
or  the  floe.  The  break  is  in  the  form  of  an  irreg- 
ular fissure  called  the  tidal  crack.  In  the  period  of 
the  spring  tides  (when  the  tides  have  their  greatest 
ranges)  the  main  pack  rises  at  high  tide  above  the  ice- 
foot, and  through  the  tidal  crack  flows  the  sea,  covering 
and  filling  the  irregularities  of  the  ice-foot.  This  over- 
flow freezes,  leaving  a  smooth,  level  surface  particularly 
favorable  for  sledge  travel  until  it  is  broken  up  by 
pressure  from  the  moving  pack. 

Egerton  found  the  ice-foot  in  good  shape  for  some  dis- 
tance, but  now  and  then  was  driven  to  the  main  floe 
of  Robeson  Channel.  The  ice  of  the  strait  was  a  mass 
of  broken,  irregular  blocks,  often  loose  in  arrangement 
and  sharp  in  forms.  Its  surface  and  the  difficulties  of 
travel  may  be  best  likened  to  marching  over  great  blocks 
of  anthracite  coal,  save  that  the  ice  is  bluish-white 
instead  of  black. 

The  heutenant  made  a  short  day's  march,  going  early 
into  camp  to  avoid  overworking  the  unhardened  mus- 

to  a  man  whose  nose  was  freezing,  as  a  matter  of  joke.  Taken  seriously,  the 
unfortunate  man  rubbed  his  nose  freely.  The  sharp,  sand-like  particles  of 
snow  acted  like  a  file,  and  scraped  off  the  skin  so  that  it  was  a  week  or  more 
before  the  man's  face  was  healed. 


222  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


cles  of  man  and  beast — a  sound  practice  followed  by 
wise  arctic  sledgemen  at  the  beginning  of  a  long  journey. 

Even  in  good  weather  the  making  of  camp  is  the 
worst  feature  of  arctic  travel.  Everything  is  frozen 
solid,  from  the  bread  to  the  bacon,  from  the  tent  to  the 
sleeping-bags,  which  become  as  stiff  as  a  board.  Now 
conditions  were  worse  than  usual  owing  to  the  increas- 
ing violence  of  the  blizzard.  With  snow-blinded  eyes 
and  a  high,  annoying  wind  the  putting  up  of  the  tent 
was  most  difficult,  but  it  was  finally  done.  This  gave  a 
wind-protected  place  where  the  cook  could  light  his  lamp, 
melt  his  snow  for  tea,  and  thaw  out  the  frozen  meat. 

Meanwhile  the  two  other  men  unpacked  the  sledge 
and  removed  the  articles  into  the  tent.  It  was  found 
that  the  driving  wind  had  sifted  fine  snow  into  the  pro- 
vision bags,  the  sleeping-gear,  and  everything  that  was 
at  all  exposed.  It  was  a  necessary  but  most  tedious 
labor  to  carefully  brush  every  particle  of  snow  from  each 
article  before  moving  it  into  the  tent.  They  knew  that 
a  neglect  so  to  do  would  be  felt  the  next  morning 
through  coatings  of  ice  over  their  gear.  While  the 
cook  was  busy  the  other  sledgemen  fed  and  picketed 
the  dogs.  If  left  loose  these  domesticated  wolves  might 
possibly  return  to  their  fellows  at  the  ship,  where  good 
food  and  fighting  company  were  to  be  had.  If  they 
remained  at  the  camp  a  loose  dog  would  swallow  down 
everything  in  the  shape  of  skin,  hide,  or  food.  More 
than  once  an  arctic  "tenderfoot"  has  wakened  to  find 
his  means  of  travel  vanished — sledge-thongs  and  dog 
harness   entirely  gone   down  the  capacious  throats  of 


The  Saving  of  Petersen  223 


his  ravenous  team.  Egerton,  alive  to  the  situation, 
carefully  stored  harnesses  and  camp  gear  in  the  tent 
with  the  provision  bags. 

So  bad  was  the  weather  that  it  took  six  hours  of 
steady  labor  to  make  camp,  change  foot-gear,  cook,  eat, 
and  enter  their  sleeping-bags. 

With  the  night  passed  on  the  blizzard,  and  morning 
came — clear,  calm,  and  bitter  cold.  Even  in  the  tent 
the  temperature  was  forty-two  degrees  below  freez- 
ing. Frost-bitten  hands,  ravenous  dogs,  slowly  melting 
snow,  and  the  watched  pot  that  never  boils  made  slow 
the  striking  of  camp.  It  was  five  and  a  half  hours  after 
leaving  their  sleeping-bags  before  they  were  getting  a 
spark  of  warmth  into  their  benumbed  limbs  by  steady 
travel  over  the  arctic  trail.  Though  it  was  bitter  cold 
the  dogs  kept  taut  their  traces  and  progress  was  rapid 
for  several  hours.  From  time  to  time  Petersen  would 
sigh,  and  to  Egerton's  question,  "What  is  the  matter?" 
answer  that  it  was  only  a  pain  that  would  pass.  But 
Egerton  felt  anxious,  as  the  Dane  fell  back  now  and 
then,  and  when  he  said  that  the  cramps  in  his  stomach 
were  terrible,  halt  was  made  in  a  sheltered  spot  where 
the  cooking-lamp  could  be  lighted.  In  a  half-hour  a 
bowl  of  boiling-hot  tea  was  served,  the  finest  known 
restorative  of  vigor  and  warmth  in  cases  of  arctic  ex- 
posure— far  surpassing  rum,  brandy,  or  any  alcoholic 
stimulant.  The  Dane  ate  neither  the  offered  bread 
nor  the  bacon,  and  indeed  of  the  latter  Egerton  said 
that  it  was  frozen  so  solidly  that  even  a  well  man  could 
not  put  tooth  through  the  lean  parts. 


224  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Soon  they  came  to  very  bad  travelling,  across  steeply 
inclined  snow  slopes  along  the  bordering  cliffs  of  the 
ice-bound  sea  that  they  were  forced  to  follow.  In  one 
place  the  trail  led  to  a  snow-drift  thirty  feet  across, 
whose  steep  seaward  face  ended  on  a  rocky  ledge 
with  a  sheer  outward  fall  of  about  thirt}^  feet.  It  was 
clearly  impossible  to  move  the  sledge  across,  and,  Alpine- 
glacier  fashion,  a  road  was  slowly  hewn  out  with  pick 
and  axe.  In  other  bad  places  the  loaded  sledge  plunged 
headlong  from  the  top  of  high  hummocks  into  masses 
of  rubble-ice  in  the  intervening  valleys.  In  such  work 
animals  are  quite  useless,  for  the  Eskimo  dog  pulls  hard 
and  steady  only  under  conditions  where  the  sledge 
moves  constantly  forward.  When  once  stalled  the  dog 
team  sits  on  its  haunches,  welcoming  a  rest,  and  watches 
events  composedly.  In  such  cases  the  skilled  driver  un- 
tangles the  traces,  straightens  out  the  team,  calls  out 
shrilly,  cracks  his  whip  loudly,  and,  as  the  dogs  spring 
forward,  gives  a  timely  and  skilful  twist  to  the  up- 
standers  which  helps  the  sledge  to  a  new  start.  If  the 
sledge  does  not  then  move  it  must  be  unloaded  and 
the  dogs  again  started,  or  it  must  be  hauled  by  man- 
power to  an  easier  part  of  the  trail. 

This  exhausting  labor  fell  on  the  3^oung  ofHcers,  as 
Petersen  was  so  sick  as  to  be  unable  to  do  his  part. 
Standing  around,  the  Dane  began  to  lose  that  warmth 
of  vigorous  circulation  that  alone  keeps  a  man  alive  in 
arctic  cold.  When  finally  the  dog  driver  was  seized 
with  fits  of  spasmodic  shivering  and  his  face  showed 
frequent  frostings,  with  bits  of  seriously  frozen  flesh, 


The  Saving  of  Petersen  225 

Egerton  became  greatly  alarmed.  As  they  were  then 
making  their  way  through  very  bad  ice,  camping  at 
once  was  impossible.  From  time  to  time,  however,  the 
officers,  quitting  the  sledge,  took  the  sufferer  in  hand, 
and  by  five  or  ten  minutes  of  work  would  get  him  so 
thawed  out  that  he  could  safely  go  on. 

When  a  good  camping-place  was  reached,  though 
they  had  travelled  only  six  miles,  Egerton  at  once 
stopped,  hoping  that  a  good  night's  rest  with  warm 
drink  and  food  would  bring  the  Dane  around. 

The  moment  that  the  tent  was  up  Egerton  sent  Peter- 
sen in  with  directions  to  change  his  clothing,  get  into 
the  sleeping-bag,  and  make  himself  comfortable  until 
dinner  was  ready.  Meanwhile  the  officers  unloaded 
the  sledge,  picketed  the  dogs,  and  cared  for  the  camp 
gear. 

On  crawling  into  the  tent  Egerton  found  Petersen 
groaning,  and  on  examination  was  shocked  to  find  that 
he  had  crawled  into  the  sleeping-bag  without  changing 
his  clothing.  Especially  bad  was  his  failure  to  replace 
his  damp  foot-gear  by  dry  socks — a  practice  of  rec- 
ognized necessity  in  arctic  travel  to  prevent  the  feet 
from  freezing  at  night. 

As  he  was  groaning  and  complaining  of  much  pain, 
Egerton  set  to  work  to  relieve  him.  Finding  that  both 
the  hands  and  the  feet  were  severely  frost-bitten,  the 
man  was  made  to  strip  off  all  his  clothing,  damp  with 
the  sweat  of  travel,  and  put  on  dry  undergarments. 
While  Rawson  was  busy  making  tea,  Egerton  set  him- 
self to  the  labor  of  thawing  out  the  frost  and  of  restoring 


226  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

circulation  by  chafing  the  hardened  limbs  with  his  bare 
hands — a  long  and  difficult  task.  The  sick  man  took 
a  Httle  hot  tea,  which  his  stomach  would  not  retain, 
but  a  dose  of  sal  volatile  (ammonia)  with  hot  rum  and 
water  gave  temporary  relief.  A  high  wind  arose  and  the 
cold  became  most  bitter,  the  temperature  in  the  tent 
falling  to  fifty-two  degrees  below  the  freezing-point. 
With  a  cold  that  would  nearly  solidify  mercury  added 
to  their  mental  troubles,  the  sufferings  of  the  party  were 
extreme.  The  hands,  face,  and  feet  of  the  invahd  suf- 
fered repeated  frost-bites,  which  the  devoted  officers 
were  hardly  able  to  remove. 

Exhausted  as  they  were  by  the  hard  and  unusual 
labors  of  the  day,  sleeping  only  by  snatches,  they  took 
watch  and  watch  to  care  as  best  they  might  for  their 
sick  comrade.  Suffering  extremely  themselves  from 
the  cold,  they  spared  no  efforts  to  give  such  personal 
services  as  might  comfort  and  benefit  him.  Again 
and  again  they  restored  circulation  to  the  frozen  parts 
by  chafing  alternately  with  their  naked  hands  and 
by  the  application  of  flannel  wraps  heated  by  their 
own  bodies.  Such  a  night  seemed  endless  with  its 
cares,  its  privations,  and  its  anxieties,  and  unfortu- 
nately the  continuing  gale  made  it  impossible  to  move 
when  dawn  came. 

It  was  with  great  relief  that  they  learned  from  the 
Dane  that  his  cramps  had  nearly  disappeared,  after  he 
had  taken  his  breakfast  of  hot  cocoa  and  soaked  biscuit. 
This  gave  way  to  renewed  anxiety  when  a  few  hours 
later  Petersen  was  attacked  by  violent  and  recurring 


The  Saving  of  Petersen  227 

fits  of  ague,  which  they  hoped  to  dispel  by  wrapping 
him  up  closely  in  all  the  available  robes  and  flannels. 

Egerton  no  longer  thought  of  going  on  to  the  Discov- 
ery, as  it  was  now  a  question  whether  or  not  the  Dane 
would  perish  before  he  could  be  got  back  to  the  Alert, 
less  than  twenty  miles  distant.  While  knowing  that 
travel  in  such  a  gale  would  be  fatal  to  one  if  not  to  all, 
it  was  certain  that  death  would  come  to  the  Dane  if 
the}^  remained  in  the  tent  with  a  cold  of  fifty-six  degrees 
below  freezing. 

Rawson  and  Egerton  agreed  that  the  only  chance  of 
prolonging  life  lay  in  building  a  snow  house.  Casting 
about  they  found  conditions  unfavorable  for  a  regular 
hut,  and  so  decided  to  burrow  a  refuge  hole  in  a  great 
snow-drift  not  far  from  their  tent.  First  they  sank  a 
shaft  six  feet  deep  to  a  solid  foundation,  and  thence 
under-cut  a  tunnel  inward  for  some  distance.  At  the 
end  of  it  they  hollowed  out  a  space  eight  feet  square 
and  four  feet  high.  This  work  was  intermittently  done, 
as  from  time  to  time  they  had  to  return  to  the  terrible 
duty  of  thawing  out  and  restoring  circulation  to  the 
limbs  of  the  freezing  man.  Within  six  hours,  however, 
they  had  the  shelter  done  and  the  Dane  removed  to  it. 
Both  tent  and  sledge  were  drawn  over  the  passageways 
so  as  to  keep  the  cold  air  out  and  the  warmth  from  their 
bodies  within.  The  cold  being  still  intense,  they  ran 
the  risk  of  asphyxiation  to  insure  Petersen's  comfort. 
Closing  every  crevice  through  which  could  come  a 
breath  of  air,  they  lighted  their  cooking-lamp  and  thus 
raised  the  temperature  to  seven  degrees  above  zero. 


228  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Fortunately  such  transpiration  of  fresh  air  took  place 
through  the  snow  as  saved  them  from  harm. 

The  day  passed  in  this  manner,  small  quantities  of 
food  being  taken  from  time  to  time  by  the  sick  man  only 
to  be  rejected  later.  Indeed,  the  only  improvement  in 
his  condition  seemed  to  come  from  those  strong  and 
dangerous,  though  effective,  restoratives,  rum  and  am- 
monia, and  these  were  almost  always  followed  by  phys- 
ical relapses.  Answering  repeatedly,  to  inquiries,  that 
he  was  warm  and  comfortable,  in  making  him  ready 
for  the  night  they  found  that  his  feet  were  perfectly 
geHd  from  the  toes  to  the  ankles  and  that  his  hands 
were  nearly  as  benumbed. 

Realizing  that  he  was  nearly  in  extremities,  Eger- 
ton  and  Rawson  renewed  their  devoted  efforts.  Each 
officer  took  a  foot,  stripped  it  naked,  and  set  to  work 
to  warm  it  by  rubbing  it  with  their  bare  hands.  When 
circulation  was  somewhat  restored  they  applied  flannels 
warmed  against  their  bodies,  and  replaced  them  as  the 
used  pieces  became  too  cold  for  service.  The  hands 
were  similarly  restored  to  warmth  after  two  hours  of 
steady  work.  When  the  limbs  were  wrapped  up  in 
thick,  dry,  and  warm  coverings  they  thought  that  the 
crisis  was  over. 

During  the  night  Egerton  was  awakened  to  find  the 
Dane  worse  than  ever.  Quite  delirious,  he  had  crawled 
from  his  sleeping-bag,  began  to  eat  snow,  and  exposed 
his  uncovered  body  to  the  cold.  Ague  fits  attacked 
him,  his  breath  came  in  short  convulsive  gasps,  and  cir- 
culation was  almost  entirely  suspended,  even  in  his 


The  Saving  of  Petersen  229 


body.  Then  followed  the  same  awful  and  tedious  labor 
of  thawing  the  man  out  and  of  guarding  against  a 
repetition  of  such  irrational  conduct. 

With  the  coming  morn  the  weather  was  found  to 
be  nearly  calm,  and  to  their  great  surprise  the  condi- 
tion of  Petersen  was  somewhat  improved. 

As  it  was  certain  death  to  remain  where  they  were, 
Egerton  decided  to  start  on  the  journey  to  the  Alert, 
seventeen  miles  distant.  Though  exceedingly  feeble, 
Petersen  thought  that  he  could  make  the  journey. 
Egerton  promptly  abandoned  everything  except  tent, 
sleeping-gear,  and  food  for  a  single  day.  Over  the  first 
part  of  the  trail — most  dangerous  for  a  sledge  and  very 
rough — Petersen  managed  to  walk  under  the  stimula- 
tion of  rum  and  ammonia.  When  he  fell,  prostrate 
and  unconscious,  on  the  icy  road  and  could  go  no 
farther,  he  was  put  into  a  sleeping-bag,  wrapped  in 
warm  robes,  and  lashed  securely  to  the  sledge. 

The  terrible  conditions  of  the  homeward  journey 
must  be  imagined  for  they  cannot  well  be  described. 
Once  the  sledge  was  precipitated  down  a  crevasse 
twenty-five  feet  deep,  the  sledge  turning  over  and  over 
three  times  in  its  descent,  hurling  the  dogs  in  all  di- 
rections. With  beating  hearts  the  officers  scrambled 
down  in  haste  to  Petersen,  expecting  to  find  him  badly 
injured,  but  almost  miraculously  he  had  escaped  with 
a  few  bruises.  At  another  point  Egerton,  who  was 
driving,  stopped  the  team  to  clear  the  harness,  a  fre- 
quent duty,  as  the  antics  of  the  dogs  tie  up  in  a  sadly 
tangled  knot  the  seal-thong  traces  by  which  the  sledge 


230  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

is  hauled.  With  one  of  its  occasional  fits  of  uncontrol, 
the  team  started  on  the  jump,  and  dragged  the  spirited 
Egerton,  who  held  fast  to  the  traces,  a  hundred  yards 
through  rough  ice-masses  before  he  could  gain  control. 

Whenever  a  stop  was  made  to  clear  harness  or  to 
pick  a  way  through  bad  ice,  the  officers  went  through 
the  slow  and  painful  duty  of  thawing  out  Petersen's 
limbs.  Save  a  brief  stop  for  hot  tea  to  give  warmth 
to  and  quench  the  thirst  of  the  invalid,  they  travelled 
ten  hours,  and  when  in  the  last  stages  of  physical  ex- 
haustion had  the  inexpressible  happiness  of  bringing 
their  crippled  comrade  alive  to  the  Alert. 

With  a  generosity  in  keeping  with  his  heroic  conduct 
toward  Petersen,  Egerton  ascribed  his  final  success  to 
Rawson's  labors,  for  in  his  official  report  he  says  that 
high  praise  is  due  Lieutenant  Rawson  "for  the  great 
aid  derived  from  his  advice  and  help;  without  his  un- 
remitting exertions  and  cheerful  spirit,  my  own  efforts 
would  have  been  unavailing  to  return  to  the  ship  with 
my  patient  alive." 

In  these  hours  of  splendid  devotion  to  their  disabled 
comrade  these  young  officers,  absolutely  disregarding 
personal  considerations,  displayed  that  contempt  for 
external  good  which  Emerson  indicates  as  the  true 
measure  of  every  heroic  act. 


LIFE  ON  AN  EAST  GREENLAND 
ICE-PACK 


LIFE  ON  AN  EAST  GREENLAND  ICE-PACK 

"And  now  there  came  both  mist  and  snow, 
And  it  grew  wondrous  cold: 
And  ice,  mast-high,  came  floating  by, 
As  green  as  emerald." 

— Coleridge. 

THE  second  German  north  polar  expedition 
sailed  under  Captain  Karl  Koldewey  in  1869, 
with  the  intention  of  landing  on  the  coast  of 
East  Greenland,  near  Sabine  Island,  whence  b}'  winter 
sledging  the  explorations  of  the  northern  coasts  of 
Greenland  and  of  the  north  polar  basin  were  to  be 
undertaken.  The  two  ships  of  the  expedition,  the  Ger- 
mania  and  the  Hafisa,  reached  by  the  middle  of  July  the 
edge  of  the  great  ice-pack,  which  in  enormous  and  gener- 
ally impenetrable  ice-masses  streams  southward  from 
the  Arctic  Ocean  between  Greenland  and  Spitzbergen. 
As  an  accompaniment  to  this  vast  ice-field  come  from 
the  glacier  fiords  of  East  Greenland  most  of  the  enor- 
mous icebergs  which  are  sighted  and  encountered  by 
transatlantic  steamships  off  the  banks  of  Newfoundland. 
The  ships  separating  through  misunderstanding  of  a 
signal,  the  Germania,  a  steam-ship,  succeeded  in  working 
her  way  through  the  ice-stream  to  Sabine  Island,  where 
her  crew  carried  out  its  programme.  The  Hansa,  with- 
out steam-power,  and  so  dependent  on  sails,  became 
entangled  in  the  pack  in  early  August   and  was   never 

233 


234  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

able  to  escape  therefrom.  The  fate  of  the  Hansa  and 
the  experiences  of  her  crew  form  the  subject-matter  of 
this  sketch. 

Until  the  Hansa  was  fast  frozen  in  the  pack,  on  Sep- 
tember 9,  Captain  Hegemann  was  prepared  for  any 
emergency,  whether  the  ship  was  crushed  or  if  opening 
lanes  of  water  should  permit  escape  to  Sabine  Island 
from  which  they  were  only  forty  miles  distant.  Com- 
pletely equipped  and  victualled  boats  were  kept  on 
deck  so  that  they  could  be  lowered  to  the  ice  at  any 
moment. 

When  the  ship  was  frozen  in  the  captain  faced  re- 
sourcefully the  serious  question  of  wintering  in  the  pack. 
It  was  known  to  him  that  no  ship  had  ever  escaped  from 
such  wintering  in  the  drifting  ice-pack  of  the  Greenland 
Sea,  and  indeed  the  violent  and  frequently  recurring 
pressures  of  the  ice-field  pointed  to  the  early  loss  of 
their  ship.  Life  might  be  possible,  but  health  and 
comfort  could  not  be  had  in  boats  covered  with 
canvas.  Cramped  quarters,  severe  cold,  damp  bedding, 
and  absence  of  facilities  for  cooking  forbade  such  an  at- 
tempt. While  others  suggested  the  snow  houses  of  the 
Eskimo,  one  fertile  mind  urged  that  a  living-house  be 
built  of  coal,  which  was  done. 

Fortunately  the  coal  supply  was  in  the  form  of  bri- 
quets, coal  tiles  nine  inches  broad,  quite  like  ordinary 
bricks  in  shape.  Thus  went  up  the  most  remarkable 
construction  in  the  annals  of  polar  history,  a  house  of 
coal  on  a  foundation  of  ice.     The  Hansa  was  moored 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack      235 

to  one  of  the  so-called  paleocrystic  floe-bergs  several 
square  miles  in  extent,  nearly  fifty  feet  thick,  with 
fresh-water  ponds  and  an  uplifted  central  mass  thirty- 


rrcdv!ckihaab\y^l_^  AM  ice. 
Cope  Farewali 


J 


Southeastern  Greenland. 


nine  feet  high,  near  which  hill  the  coal  house  was  built 
to  insure  its  safety.  With  water  from  the  pools  to 
pour  on  the  finely  powdered  snow,  the  arctic  masons 
had  a  cement  that  quickly  bound  together  the  tiles  as 


236  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

they  were  laid  in  courses.  The  ship's  spars  were  laid 
crossways  for  the  main  rafters,  and  other  wood  was 
used  for  the  completion  of  the  roof-frame,  over  which 
were  stretched  reed  mattings  and  sail-cloth.  Coal  tiles 
made  a  level  and  convenient  floor,  whence  in  case  of 
necessity  they  might  draw  for  fuel  in  the  late  winter. 
With  a  double  door  and  provision  caches  in  the  house 
they  awaited  the  action  of  the  pack,  still  comfortable 
in  the  ship's  cabins. 

With  joy  the  hunters  learned  that  the  ice-lield  was 
not  wholly  desolate,  but  that  it  was  the  hunting-field 
of  the  polar  bear,  who  was  followed  by  the  arctic  fox, 
who  deftly  snapped  up  under  bruin's  very  nose  any 
outlying  bit  of  seal  that  was  within  reach. 

In  the  early  days,  before  the  pack  had  becom.e  an  un- 
broken ice-mass,  a  hunter  espied  on  an  adjacent  floe  a 
large  she  bear  with  her  cub.  A  boat  was  quickly  put  off* 
to  cross  the  narrow  water-lane,  when  to  the  surprise  of 
every  one  the  old  bear,  followed  by  the  cub,  rushed 
forward  to  meet  them  at  the  edge  of  the  floe,  gnash- 
ing her  teeth  and  licking  her  chops,  clearly  unfamiliar 
with  man  and  his  weapons  and  anxious  for  a  meal.  As 
they  fired  the  bear  fell  dead  on  the  snow,  but  the  cub 
instead  of  running  remained  by  her  side  licking  and 
caressing  her  mother  in  the  most  aflfectionate  manner. 
She  paid  no  attention  at  first  to  the  advancing  hunters, 
save  to  alertly  elude  the  many  efforts  to  cast  a  noose 
over  her  head.  Finally  the  cub  became  alarmed,  and 
with  piteous  bowlings  ran  away,  escaping  over  the 
rugged  pack  despite  a  shot  which  wounded  her. 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack      237 


In  the  middle  of  October  came  a  series  of  violent  bliz- 
zards which  foretold  the  coming  fate  of  the  ship.  The 
groaning,  grinding  ice-field  was  breaking  up  under 
enormous  pressures  that  came  from  the  colliding  floe- 
bergs,  which  were  revolving  under  various  forces  of 
wind  and  sea  currents.  Though  trembling  violently, 
with  her  masts  swaying  to  and  fro,  the  Ilansa  was 
spared,  great  fissures  in  the  floe  near  by  showing  how 
close  was  her  escape.  All  of  the  crew  were  busy  pre- 
paring for  the  worst,  fuel,  food,  and  clothing  being 
carried  in  quantities  to  the  house. 

The  end  came  on  October  19  within  four  miles  of  the 
East  Greenland  coast,  when  a  gale  sprang  up  and  the 
coUision  of  the  fast  ice  of  the  shore  and  the  moving 
sea-pack  had  already  increased  the  ice-pressures  with 
fearful  results.  Mighty  blocks  of  granite-like  ice  shov- 
ing under  the  bow  of  the  ship  raised  it  seventeen  feet 
above  its  former  position  in  the  ice,  while  the  after 
part  of  the  Hansa  was  frozen  in  so  tightly  or  jammed 
so  badly  that  it  could  not  rise,  under  which  condi- 
tions it  was  certain  that  the  stern  would  be  racked  and 
strained  beyond  service. 

The  dangerous  situation  was  dramatic  in  the  extreme. 
With  the  dying  wind  the  sky  cleared,  the  stars  shone 
with  keen  briUiancy,  the  cold  increased  sharply  to  forty- 
five  degrees  below  the  freezing-point,  while,  as  if  in 
mockery  of  man's  sorrows,  the  merry  dancers  flashed 
upward  in  dagger-shaped  gleams  wavering  an  instant 
and  then  vanishing,  only  to  come  again  in  new  forms 
with  ever-changing  colors.    To  a  mere  observer  it  would 


238  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

have  been  a  perfect  picture  of  adverse  arctic  conditions, 
wonderful  in  its  aspects  and  surpassingly  beautiful  to 
an  artistic  eye. 

With  relaxing  pressures  the  great  ice-ridges  slowly 
decreasing  in  height  fell  apart,  and  the  ship  was  again 
on  her  usual  level,  but  rent  fatally  and  making  water 
fast.  In  vain  did  the  whole  crew  strain  at  the  pumps, 
while  the  outpouring  water  from  the  spouts  froze  on  the 
deck  as  it  fell — the  water  gained  steadily  and  orders  to 
save  the  cargo  were  given.  The  worn-out  men  worked 
frantically,  dragging  out  bedding,  food,  clothing,  med- 
icines, guns,  ammunition,  sledges,  boat  furniture,  and 
everything  that  could  be  of  service  for  life  on  the 
floe.  Best  of  all,  for  their  comfort  and  amusement, 
they  hoisted  over  the  rail  of  the  ship's  galley  heating- 
stoves,  games,  and  books;  they  felled  the  masts  for  fuel 
and  stripped  the  sails  for  house  use.  Fortunately  the 
energetic  seamen  were  able  to  strip  the  ship  of  all  useful 
articles  before  she  sank  on  October  22,  1869,  in  70  52 
north  latitude,  a  few  miles  from  the  Greenland  coast. 

They  now  faced  a  situation  of  extraordinary  if  not 
of  imminent  peril.  It  was  barely  possible  that  they 
might  reach  the  coast,  six  miles  distant,  but  that  was 
to  face  starvation,  as  everything  must  be  abandoned 
for  a  cross-floe  march.  If  the  shore  was  reached  it  was 
well  known  to  be  ice-clad  and  desolate,  as  there  were 
to  be  found  neither  natives  nor  land  game  along  the 
narrow  strips  of  rocky,  ice-free  beach  which  stretches 
from  sea-glacier  to  sea-glacier  on  this  seemingly  ac- 
cursed coast. 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack      239 


The  only  chances  of  life  were  in  the  shifting  and  un- 
certain forces  of  nature — a  cold  winter  to  keep  the  ice- 
field intact,  a  stormless  season  to  save  their  floe  from 
breaking  up  under  pressures,  and  the  usual  Greenland 
current  to  set  them  to  the  south.  With  good  fortune 
they  might  hope  to  get  into  open  water  seven  months 
hence,  when  by  their  boats  they  could  possibly  reach 
the  Danish  settlements  of  West  Greenland.  But  could 
they  live  seven  months  through  a  winter  barely  be- 
gun? At  least  they  would  do  their  best.  They  were 
fourteen  men,  all  good  and  true,  in  health,  skilled  to  the 
sea,  inured  to  hardships  and  privations,  accustomed 
to  discipline,  and  inspired  by  a  spirit  of  comradeship. 

Their  floe  had  been  wasted  at  its  edges  by  the  enor- 
mous pressure,  as  well  as  by  the  action  of  thfe  sea,  so 
that  they  were  thankful  for  Hegemann's  foresight  in 
placing  the  coal  house  remote  from  the  ocean.  All  that 
sailor  ingenuity  could  plan  was  now  done  to  make  life 
healthy  and  comfortable  in  their  ark  of  safety.  Outer 
snow  walls  were  erected  so  that  there  was  a  free  walk 
around  the  main  house,  giving  also  a  place  for  the  pro- 
tection of  stores  against  storms  and  shelter  for  daily 
exercise.  From  their  flag-staff  was  displayed  on  fine 
days  a  flag,  emblem  of  their  love  for  their  country,  of 
their  faith  in  themselves,  and  of  aspiration  and  uplifting 
courage  in  hours  of  danger. 

The  hunt  engaged  their  activities  whenever  signs  of 
game  were  noted.  Once  a  bear  and  her  cub  came  from 
the  land,  and  the  mother  was  slain  and  added  to  their 
larder.     An  eff'ort  was  made  to  keep  the  cub  as  a  kind 


240  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

of  pet.  After  a  while  she  escaped  and  was  caught 
swimming  across  a  narrow  lane  of  water.  To  keep  her 
secure  they  fastened  her  to  an  ice-anchor,  where  she 
was  at  first  very  much  frightened,  but  later  she  ate 
with  avidity  such  meat  as  was  thrown  to  her.  To  add 
to  her  comfort  a  snow  house  was  built,  with  the  floor 
strewed  with  shavings  for  her  bed,  but  the  record  runs: 
"The  young  bear,  as  a  genuine  inhabitant  of  the  arctic 
seas,  despised  the  hut  and  bed,  preferring  to  camp  in  the 
snow. "  Some  days  later  she  disappeared,  and  with  the 
heavy  chain  doubtless  sank  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

Nor  were  these  castaways  unmindful  of  the  charms 
of  arctic  nature.  Their  narratives  tell  us  of  the  common 
beauties  around  them — the  snow-crystals  glittering  in 
the  few  hours  of  sunlight  like  millions  of  tiny  diamonds. 
Night  scenes  were  even  more  impressive,  through  won- 
drous views  of  the  starry  constellations  and  the  recurring 
and  evanescent  gleams  of  the  mystical  aurora.  Under 
the  weird  auroral  light  the  white  snow  took  at  times  a 
peculiar  greenish  tint,  and  with  it,  says  an  officer,  "One 
could  read  the  finest  writing  without  trouble.  One 
night  it  shone  so  intensely  that  the  starlight  waned  and 
objects  on  our  field  cast  shadows."  But  in  its  main 
aspects  life  on  the  ice-pack  was  full  of  dread  in  v/hich 
nervous  anxiety  largely  entered. 

The  barren  peaks  and  rounded  snow-capped  land 
masses  of  the  Greenland  coast  were  usually  in  sight,  and 
once  they  were  astonished  as  they  walked  to  see  thou- 
sands of  tiny  leaves,  possibly  of  the  arctic  willow,  fly- 
ing about  them,  signs  of  a  snow-free  fiord  not  far  dis- 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack      241 

tant.  Again  the  newl}'  fallen  snow  for  a  considerable 
distance  was  covered  with  a  reddish  matter  which 
Dr.  Laube  thought  must  be  of  volcanic  origin  carried 
through  the  air  from  Iceland  two  hundred  miles  away. 

Of  interest  to  the  party  were  the  visits  of  foxes,  who 
came  from  the  near-by  land.  Of  the  first  it  is  said: 
"With  tails  high  in  air  they  shot  over  the  ice-field  like 
small  craft  sailing  before  the  wind.  For  the  first  mo- 
ment it  seemed  as  if  the  wind  had  caught  up  a  couple 
of  large  semicircles  of  whitish  yellow  paper  and  was 
wafting  them  along. "  One  was  shot  as  a  specimen,  but 
the  later  visitor  in  the  middle  of  December  was  better 
treated.  We  are  told  that  "the  fox,  white  with  a 
black-tipped  tail,  was  particularly  confiding,  even  bold. 
He  scratched  up  the  bear  flesh  buried  in  the  snow,  and 
carried  it  off  to  eat  as  we  approached.  He  then  quite 
unconcernedly  took  a  walk  on  the  roof  of  our  house, 
and  through  the  small  window  convinced  himself  as 
to  what  we  were  doing.  Should  we  shoot  it.f*  No!  It 
was  a  long  time  since  we  had  seen  such  a  fearless 
creature.  At  times  we  placed  nets  with  a  meat  bait 
to  tease  him,  but  he  always  managed  to  get  clear  of 
them." 

Meanwhile  their  coal  house  with  the  floe  was  drifting 
south  slowly,  with  the  coast  of  Greenland  in  plain  sight, 
distant  from  five  to  fifteen  miles.  Their  safety,  always 
the  subject  of  daily  talk,  seemed  assured  until  the  com- 
ing spring,  for  they  were  on  an  immense  floe-berg 
whose  area  of  about  four  square  miles  was  dotted  with 
hills  and  vales,  while  sweet-water  lakes  gave  abundant 


242  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

water  for  drinking  and  cooking,  a  great  boon.  It  was 
known  that  surrounding  floes  were  daily  grinding  huge 
pieces  of  ice  from  the  edge  of  their  own,  and  that  the 
ice-pressures  were  steadily  turning  it  around,  so  that 
one  week  they  saw  the  rising  sun  from  their  single 
window  and  the  week  following  noted  the  setting  sun 
therefrom.  At  first  this  floe  rotation  was  completed  in 
twelve  days,  but  later,  with  reduced  size,  stronger  cur- 
rents, and  high  winds,  the  floe-berg  made  a  full  rotation 
in  four  days. 

At  times  there  were  welcome  additions  to  their  slim 
larder  of  fresh  meat.  One  day  a  seaman  rushed  in 
breathless  to  say  that  he  was  sure  there  was  a  walrus 
near  by.  All  were  instantly  astir,  and  soon  a  walrus 
was  located,  a  black  spot  on  the  clear  white  of  an  ad- 
joining floe.  With  great  celerity  and  caution  the  whale- 
boat  was  launched  in  the  intervening  lane  of  open  water, 
and  with  notable  skill  the  steersman,  Hildebrant,  ma- 
noeuvred the  boat  within  rifle  range  without  disturbing 
the  rest  of  the  sleeping  animal.  The  first  shot  wounded 
the  walrus  so  badly  that  he  could  move  away  but  slowly. 
On  the  approach  of  the  hunters  he  struggled  with  great 
fury,  breaking  through  the  young  ice  and  attempting 
to  strike  down  the  hunters  as  they  approached  to  give 
him  his  death  wound. 

Covered  with  hide  an  inch  thick,  the  walrus  was  so 
colossal  that  it  took  the  united  strength  of  ten  men, 
using  a  powerful  pulley,  to  raise  the  carcass  from  the 
water  to  the  main  ice.  Under  the  outer  hide  was  a 
layer  of  fat  three  inches  thick,  which  was  almost  as 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack      243 


acceptable  for  fuel  as  was  the  meat  for  food  to  men 
who  had  for  so  long  a  time  been  confined  to  salt  and 
canned  meats  as  their  principal  diet. 

The  odor  of  the  burning  walrus  fat  seemed  to  at- 
tract bears  from  long  distances.  One  inquisitive  bruin, 
sniffing  at  the  meat  in  one  of  the  boats,  fell  through  the 
tightly  stretched  canvas  covering,  and  scrambling  out 
growled  at  the  night  light  by  the  outer  door  of  the  house 
and  passed  on  safely.  A  second  animal  was  wounded 
but  escaped.  The  third,  whose  acute  hunger  brought 
him  one  dark  night  to  the  house  in  search  of  the  odor- 
ous walrus  fat,  was  received  with  a  volley  and  was 
found  dead  the  next  morning. 

The  quiet  Christmas  holidays,  celebrated  with  Ger- 
man earnestness,  had  brought  to  their  hearts  an  un- 
usual sense  of  confidence,  peace,  and  hope,  based  on  their 
providential  preservation,  excellent  health,  and  physical 
comfort.  This  confidence  was  soon  rudely  dispelled, 
giving  way  to  deep  anxiety  at  the  devastation  wrought 
by  a  frightful  blizzard  that  burst  on  them  with  the 
opening  new  year. 

Then  the  crew  realized  that  there  was  a  possible 
danger  of  perishing  in  the  pack,  since  at  any  time  their 
immense  floe-berg  might  break  into  countless  pieces 
in  the  very  midst  of  the  polar  cold  and  the  winter  dark- 
ness. With  the  violent  wind  arose  an  awful  groan- 
ing of  the  ice-pack,  due  to  the  tremendous  pressures  of 
the  surging  ocean  beneath  and  of  the  crowding  floes 
around.  So  violent  were  the  movements  of  the  floe 
itself,  and  so  great  the  noise  of  crashing  bergs,   that 


244  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

they  feared  to  longer  remain  in  the  coal  house,  and  in 
terror  of  their  Hves  they  sought  refuge  in  the  open.  Al- 
though the  snow-filled  air  made  it  impossible  for  any  one 
to  see  a  dozen  yards,  yet  at  least  there  was  a  chance  to 
escape  if  the  floe  split  under  their  feet,  which  was  felt  to 
be  possible  at  any  moment.  They  made  ready  for  the 
worst,  though  escape  from  death  seemed  quite  hopeless. 
RolHng  up  their  fur  sleeping-bags  and  clothing,  they 
filled  their  knapsacks  with  food.  Forming  a  human 
chain  they  ran  safety  lines  from  the  house  to  the  several 
boats,  well  knowing  that  in  the  blinding  blizzard  one 
could  not  otherwise  find  his  way  to  the  boat  to  which 
each  one  had  been  told  off  for  the  final  emergency. 
They  then  set  a  watch  of  two  men  to  note  events,  and, 
intrusting  their  souls  to  God,  the  rest  of  the  party 
crawled  into  their  sleeping-bags  for  such  needed  rest 
and  for  such  possible  sleep  as  might  come  to  the  most 
stolid. 

When  the  gale  broke  two  days  later  they  found  that 
they  had  escaped  death  as  by  miracle.  Three-fourths 
of  this  seemingly  stable  floe  had  disappeared,  broken 
into  huge,  shapeless  masses.  Barely  a  square  mile  of 
the  floe  remained  intact,  with  the  coal  house  perilously 
near  the  edge  instead  of  in  the  centre. 

Scarcely  had  order  and  comfort  been  restored,  when 
ten  days  later  an  even  more  furious  blizzard  burst  upon 
them,  actually  bringing  them  face  to  face  with  death. 
In  the  middle  of  the  night  the  watch  cried  out  loudly, 
"All  hands  turn  out!"  With  their  furs  and  knapsacks 
now  kept  ready  for  instant  action,  they  rushed  out  and 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack     245 

stood  in  place,  each  by  his  allotted  boat.  The  hurricane 
wind  made  movement  most  difficult,  snow  filled  the  air, 
their  floe  was  quivering  from  awful  pressures,  while  the 
howling  gale  and  groaning  ice-pack  made  a  deafening 
tumult.  Nothing  could  be  done  but  to  stand  and  wait! 
Suddenly  the  captain  cried  out,  "Water  is  making 
on  the  next  floe!"  An  adjoining  floe-berg  of  great  size 
and  thickness  had  split  into  countless  pieces,  and  where 
a  moment  before  had  been  a  solid  ice  surface  was  a  high 
sea  tossing  broken  ice-masses.  Huge  pieces  of  their  own 
berg  now  broke  off',  due  to  the  action  of  the  sea  and  to 
collision  with  the  crowding  pack.  While  looking  with  a 
feeling  of  despair  at  the  high  waves,  now  gnawing  at 
and  rapidly  wasting  the  edges  of  their  floe,  they  were 
greatly  alarmed  to  hear  a  loud,  sharp  report  as  of  a 
cannon-shot.  Before  am^  one  could  stir,  even  had  he 
known  where  to  go,  their  floe  burst  with  a  fearful  sound 
midway  between  the  coal  house  and  the  wood-pile. 
Within  a  dozen  yards  of  the  house  now  appeared  a  huge 
chasm,  quickl}'  filled  w4th  huge  waves  which  tossed  to 
and  fro  great  ice-blocks  which  beat  against  tiie  floe 
remnant  on  which  the  dismaj^ed  men  stood.  Though 
all  seemed  lost  the  crew  without  exception  acted  with 
courage  and  celerity.  By  prompt  work  the}'  dragged 
up  on  the  sound  ice  the  whale-boat  which  barely  es- 
caped dropping  into  the  sea.  Aware  that  the}'  could 
not  launch  and  handle  in  such  a  storm  the  largest  of 
their  boats,  Hegemann  told  off"  the  men  to  the  tv,o  small 
boats.  In  the  pandemonium  death  was  thought  to  be 
close    at    hand.     With   this   thought  they  gave  a  last 


246  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

handshake  to  each  other  and  said  a  final  farewell  as 
they  separated  and  went  to  their  alloted  stations  by  the 
boats.  The  physical  conditions  were  so  utterly  wretched 
that  some  even  said  that  death  would  be  welcome. 
The  roaring  of  the  pack  was  unceasing,  the  hurricane- 
like winds  continued,  while  the  temperature  was  forty- 
tw^o  degrees  below  freezing.  The  sharp,  cutting  snow- 
pellets  of  the  blizzard  not  only  blinded  the  vision,  but 
the  clothes  were  saturated  with  the  sand-like  ice  par- 
ticles driven  through  the  fur  to  their  very  skin,  where 
they  were  melted  b}^  the  heat  of  the  body.  Food  was 
not  to  be  thought  of,  save  a  bit  of  biscuit  which  was 
eaten  as  they  stood. 

For  ten  hours  they  stood  fast  b}^  their  boats  in  shiv- 
ering misery  and  in  mental  anxiety,  knowing  that  any 
moment  they  might  be  thrown  into  the  sea.  But  by 
God's  protection,  in  a  providential  manner,  after  being 
reduced  to  a  diameter  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
their  floe  held  together. 

The  dangers  of  the  sea  and  of  the  ordinary  pack  had 
still  another  and  novel  phase.  When  matters  seemed  to 
be  at  their  worst  the  watch  cried  out:  "We  are  drifting 
on  a  high  iceberg!"  They  stood  immovable  as  the 
lofty  berg  loomed  far  above  their  heads,  close  on  them, 
and  after  hanging  a  ghastly  object  over  their  tiny  floe 
for  a  moment  vanished  in  the  mist  while  their  hearts 
were  yet  in  their  mouths. 

They  had  barely  gathered  together  and  arranged  their 
few  remaining  effects  when  another  frightful  storm 
came   upon   them.     While   there  were  ice-movements 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack      247 

around  them  all  went  to  sleep  except  the  watch, 
when  with  a  thundering  sound  their  quivering  fioe 
broke  in  two,  a  broad  fissure  passing  through  the  floor 
of  the  house.  Captain  Hegemann  says:  *'God  only 
knows  how  it  happened  that  in  our  flight  into  the  open 
none  came  to  harm.  In  the  most  fearful  weather  we 
all  stood  roofless  on  the  ice,  waiting  for  the  daylight 
which  was  still  ten  hours  oflT.  As  it  became  quieter 
some  crept  into  the  captain's  boat.  Sleep  was  not  to 
be  thought  of;  it  was  a  confused,  unquiet  half-slumber, 
from  utter  weariness,  and  our  limbs  quivered  convul- 
sively from  cold  (it  was  forty-one  degrees  below  freez- 
ing) as  we  lay  packed  like  herrings  in  our  furs." 

With  a  heroic  devotion  to  duty  the  energetic  cook 
had  the  courage  to  make  cofi'ee  in  the  shattered  house, 
on  the  very  edge  of  the  gaping  ice-chasm  that  ran  down 
into  the  sea.  Hegemann  says:  "Never  had  the  deli- 
cious drink  awakened  more  creatures  to  life."  This 
cook  was  a  notable  character,  never  discomposed,  but 
invariably  self-possessed  even  in  the  most  critical  mo- 
ments. While  the  shattered  coal  house  seemed  in  dan- 
ger of  falling  into  the  sea  he  was  busy  repairing  a  kettle. 
When  the  captain  suggested  that  he  leave  the  house 
owing  to  the  peril,  he  said :  *'  If  onl}^  the  floe  would  hold 
together  until  I  finish  the  kettle,  then  I  can  make  tea 
so  that  you  all  may  have  something  warm  before  ycu 
enter  the  boats."  No  pains  or  trouble  was  too  great 
for  him  when  the  comfort  of  his  shipmates  was  in 
question. 

The  poor  doctor  of  the  expedition  did  not  have  the 


248  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

iron  nerves  of  the  cook,  and  under  the  influence  of 
constant!}^  recurring  dangers  he  developed  melancholia, 
which  lasted  to  the  end.  Of  the  crew  in  general  cap- 
tain Hegemann  says:  "Throughout  all  of  the  discom- 
forts, want,  hardships,  and  dangers  of  all  kinds  the 
frame  of  mind  among  the  men  was  good,  undaunted, 
and  exalting." 

All  denied  themselves  to  give  comfort  and  to  show 
consideration  to  the  afflicted  doctor. 

At  a  gloomy  period  there  came  to  them  amuse- 
ment and  distraction  through  the  visit  of  a  frisky  fox 
from  the  main-land,  who  remained  with  them  many 
days.  With  growing  boldness  he  came  up  quickly 
without  signs  of  fear  when  bits  of  meat  were  thrown  to 
him  from  the  cook's  galley.  His  gay  antics  and  cun- 
ning ways  were  the  source  of  much  fun.  Finally  he 
became  so  tame  that  he  even  let  the  men  he  knew 
best  stroke  his  snow-white  fur. 

On  May  7,  1870,  they  were  near  Cape  Farewell,  the 
southerly  point  of  Greenland,  where  they  expected  to 
quit  the  ice-field.  It  was  now  two  hundred  days  since 
their  besetment,  and  they  had  drifted  more  than  six 
hundred  miles,  with  all  in  health  save  the  doctor. 
Snow  had  now  given  place  to  rain,  the  pack  was  rapidly 
dissolving,  and  at  the  first  opening  of  the  ice  toward 
land  they  left  their  old  floe  and  faced  in  their  three 
boats  the  perils  of  an  ice-filled  sea.  Afflicted  by  snow- 
blindness,  worn  out  by  strenuous,  unceasing  labor, 
storm-beset  at  times,  encompassed  by  closely  packed 
broken    ice — through    which    the  boats   could   not   be 


Life  on  an  East  Greenland  Ice-Pack      249 


rowed  or  pushed  and  over  which  man  could  not  travel 
• — they  at  last  reached  Illuidlek  Island.  The  voyage 
at  starting  was  supposed  to  involve  four  days  of  navi- 
gation, but  it  took  twenty-four  days  to  make  it. 

Now  food  became  scarce  for  the  first  time,  neither 
seals  nor  bears  being  killed,  so  that  they  were  always 
hungry.  Hegemann  writes:  "Talk  turns  on  nothing 
but  eating.  Konrad  was  quite  sad  this  morning;  in 
his  sleep  he  had  consumed  ham  and  poached  eggs,  one 
after  another,  but  on  waking  felt  so  dreadfully  hollow 
within." 

Threatened  by  a  closing  pack  they  hauled  up,  with 
great  difficulty,  their  boats  on  a  large  floe.  They  found  a 
low  shelving  edge  of  the  ice  and  emptied  the  large  boat 
of  its  contents.  Rocking  the  boat  backward  and  for- 
ward, head  on,  when  it  had  gained  a  free  motion,  the 
whole  crew  hauled  together  on  the  painter  when  the 
boatswain  cried  loudy:  "Pull  all!"  When  the  bow 
caught  the  edge  of  the  ice  the  boat  could  in  time  be 
worked  gradually  up  on  the  floe,  but  it  was  a  heart- 
breaking, exhausting,  prolonged  labor. 

Storm-bound  for  four  days,  they  resorted  to  various 
devices  to  pass  the  time  and  divert  their  minds  from 
hunger.  The  loquacious  carpenter  spun  old-time  sea 
yarns,  Vegesack  tales  of  astounding  character.  In  one 
story  he  related  his  experiences  as  captain  of  a  gun- 
boat when,  having  no  sailing  directions  for  the  North 
Sea,  he  steered  by  the  help  of  a  chart  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean from  Bremen  to  Hull.  When  he  arrived  off 
Hull  he  verified  his   position   exactly  by   a   sounding, 


250  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

which  proved  conclusively  that  he  was  at  Ramsgate, 
south  of  the  Thames.     Thus  did  folly  beguile  misery. 

Cut  off  from  land  by  closely  packed  ice,  they  finally 
made  the  journey  practically  on  foot,  carrying  their 
food  and  baggage  on  their  backs.  The  boats  were 
dragged  one  at  a  time  through  soft  snow  and  across 
icy  chasms.  This  task  left  them  in  a  state  of  utter 
exhaustion,  even  the  captain  fainting  from  continued 
overwork. 

From  Illuidlek  their  voyage  was  easy  to  the  Mora- 
vian missionary  colony  at  Friedrichshaab,  West  Green- 
land, where  comfort  and  safety  were  again  theirs. 
Thus  ended  this  wondrous  voyage,  which  quiet  heroism, 
complete  comradeship,  and  full  devotion  to  dut)^  make 
one  of  the  most  striking  in  the  annals  of  arctic  service. 


PARR'S  LONELY  MARCH  FROM  THE 
GREAT  FROZEN  SEA 


PARR'S  LONELY  MARCH   FROM  THE 
GREAT   FROZEN  SEA 

Those  grim  fields  which  he  silent  as  night  and  unin- 
habited, and  where  no  sound  of  human  voice  breaks  the  re- 
pose, where  no  dead  are  buried  and  where  none  can  rise. 

— Klopstock. 

CENTURIES  of  efforts  to  attain  the  north  pole, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  government  of  Great 
Britain,  had  their  final  culmination  in  the 
arctic  expedition  of  1875-6.  The  squadron  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  Sir  George  Nares,  R.N.,  of  Chal- 
lenger fame,  whose  flag-ship,  the  Alert,  wintered  at 
Floeberg  Beach,  exposed  to  the  full  force  of  the  mighty 
pack  of  the  frozen  Arctic  Ocean.  Of  the  many  sledge 
journeys  made  with  the  Alert  as  the  base  of  operations, 
the  most  important  was  naturally  expected  to  accom- 
plish the  main  object  of  the  expedition.  It  was  com- 
manded by  Commander  Albert  H.  Markham,  R.N., 
who  with  three  man-sledges,  two  boats,  and  seventeen 
men  all  told  marched  directly  northward  over  the 
hummocky  surface  of  the  Great  Frozen  Sea  in  an  eff'ort 
to  reach  the  north  pole.  B}'^  most  strenuous  labors 
and  heroic  persistency  Markham  reached  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ice-covered  sea  latitude  83  20'  N.,  a  point 
nearer  the  north  pole  than  had  ever  before  been  at- 
tained by  man. 

This  tale  sets  forth   the  lamentable  experiences  of 

253 


254  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Markham's  homeward  march,  and  particularly  the 
vitally  important  and  heroic  journey  of  Lieutenant 
A.  A.  C.  Parr,  R.N.,  which  saved  the  lives  of  his 
slowly  perishing  comrades. 

The  northward  sledge  journey  over  the  floes  of  the 
frozen  sea,  though  conducted  by  brave  and  experi- 
enced officers  with  selected  men,  was  made  under  un- 
usual physical  disadvantages  which  made  impossible 
any  further  success  than  was  actually  accompHshed. 
The  party  was  encumbered  with  heavy  boats,  which 
were  carried  as  a  precautionary  measure  through  fear 
lest  the  main  polar  pack  might  be  disrupted  during 
their  journey.  The  sledges  were  fearfully  overloaded, 
for  while  their  burdens  of  two  hundred  pounds  per  man 
might  be  hauled  short  distances  over  good  ice,  the  later 
conditions  of  four  hundred  pounds  (three  sledges  with 
two  crews)  per  man,  in  deep  snow  and  through  rough 
ice,  was  simply  impossible.  The  extreme  roughness  of 
the  ice  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  was  beyond  expectation  or 
earlier  experience.  Finally  it  developed  on  the  march 
that  the  health  and  strength  of  the  men  were  impaired 
by  attacks  of  incipient  and  unsuspected  scurvy.  So 
it  happened  that  when  only  thirteen  days  out  from 
the  ship  a  scurvy-stricken  man  had  to  be  hauled  on 
the  alread}^  overloaded  sledge.  With  true  British  grit 
Markham  went  ahead,  but  four  days  later,  in  order  to 
spare  the  strength  of  his  men,  who  were  daily  falling 
out  of  the  traces,  he  decided  to  take  the  chances  of 
pack-disruption  and  so  abandoned  one  of  his  boats. 


Parr's  Lonely  March 


255 


It  is  not  needful  to  give  the  details  of  the  outward 
journey,  which  involved  the  abject  misery  of  scarified 
faces,  frost-hardened  fingers,  capsizing  sledges,  deep 
snows,  and  extreme  cold  to  which  most  arctic  sledge- 


esf'w. 


«oPw. 


83> 


*hlarkham  Q3''20'N. 
Gr^at  rroz,cn  5c  a 


Great  Frozen  Sea  and  Robeson  Channel. 

men  are  subjected.  To  these  were  added  road-making, 
owing  to  the  mazes  of  high  hummocks  with  deep  inter- 
vening valleys.  The  increase  of  loads,  so  that  progress 
could  be  made  only  by  standing-pulls,  w^as  bad  enough, 
but  this  disabilit}'  was  enhanced  by  the  steady  decrease 
of  the  number  of  sledgemen,  by  the  necessity  of  hauling 


256  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

disabled  men,  and  by  the  nursing  care  of  patients 
steadily  growing  worse  and  unable  to  do  anything  for 
themselves. 

Under  such  conditions  Markham  added  to  the  glory 
of  the  British  Navy  by  displaying  the  flag  of  his  country 
on  May  12,  1876,  in  83°  20'  N.,  thus  establishing  a 
world's  record.  As  five  of  his  seventeen  men  were  then 
unable  even  to  walk,  his  venturesome  courage  in  this 
journey  could  not  be  surpassed.  Certainly  Commander 
Markham  pushed  to  the  extreme  limit  compliance  w4th 
his  assertive  sledge  motto:  "I  dare  do  all  that  becomes 
a  man.     Who  dares  do  more  is  none." 

Amidst  the  glory  and  happiness  of  this  notable  day, 
there  could  not  fail  to  arise  in  the  minds  of  all,  especially 
of  Markham  and  his  efficient  aid,  Lieutenant  Parr, 
unbidden  forebodings  as  to  the  homeward  march.  Was 
it  not  possible  that  their  distressing  conditions  were  a 
prelude  to  disaster?  Would  they  all  reach  the  ship? 
At  all  events  they  would  do  all  that  was  in  their 
power. 

The  seriousness  of  the  situation  was  soon  evident.  In 
five  days'  travel,  though  inspired  to  greater  efforts  by 
the  fact  that  they  were  homeward  bound,  they  averaged 
only  one  and  a  half  miles  daily,  at  which  rate  it  would 
take  fifty  days  of  uninterrupted  sledging  to  reach  the 
Alert.  The  sledge  work  was  simply  appalling,  almost 
heart-breaking.  It  took  the  whole  force  to  advance 
the  largest  of  the  three  sledges,  and  the  necessary  re- 
turn -for  the  smaller  sledges  tripled  the  distance  of  the 
original  march.     In  addition  the  windings  of  the  road 


Parr's  Lonely  March  257 

to  avoid  bad  ice  so  increased  the  length  of  the  route 
that  they  were  travelling  five  miles  for  each  mile  made 
good  toward  the  ship. 

Meantime  the  health  and  the  strength  of  the  men 
steadily  decreased,  and,  most  alarming  symptoms  of 
all,  the  appetites  of  the  sledgemen  began  to  fail.  Mark- 
ham's  field  journal  briefly  tells  the  harrowing  tale: 
''With  great  difficulty  can  the  patients  be  persuaded 
to  eat  anything.  Mouths  are  too  tender  for  well-soaked 
biscuit,  and  stomachs  rebel  against  pemmican  and  fat 
bacon.  .  .  .  Unquenchable  thirst,  alleviated  at  meals 
only  for  lack  of  fuel  to  melt  ice.  .  .  .  Invalids  very 
weak  and  much  subject  to  fainting  fits.  So  utterly 
helpless  and  prostrate  are  they  that  they  have  to  be 
assisted  in  every  detail  by  two  and  sometimes  four  of 
their  companions.  .  .  .  Tea-leaves  are  devoured  with 
avidity  by  the  majority.  .  .  .  The  men  find  great 
difficulty  in  moving  their  legs,  and  are  in  great  pain. 
.  .  .  All  are  so  stiff  that  the  slightest  exertion  causes 
great  suffering.  .  .  .  Out  of  thirty-four  legs  in  the  party 
we  can  only  muster  eleven  good  ones.  .  .  .  Every  hour 
is  important,  as  we  know  not  when  we  may  all  be  at- 
tacked and  rendered  useless." 

When  in  this  condition  they  were  storm-stayed  for 
thirty-six  hours  by  a  violent  blizzard,  when  one  could 
not  see  a  sledge's  length  ahead.  This  brought  matters 
to  a  crisis,  and  to  hasten  the  march  Markham  was 
obliged  to  abandon  his  last  boat  and  all  stores  that 
could  be  spared,  ammunition,  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty pounds  of  pemmican,  and  much   camp  gear.     It 


258  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

was  indeed  time,  for  only  four  of  the  men  were  en- 
tirely well. 

A  pleasurable  incident  made  happy  for  a  moment 
these  distressed  sailors,  sick,  worn  out,  surrounded  by 
an  illimitable  expanse  of  ice.  Markham  records:  "The 
appearance  of  a  little  snow-bunting,  which  fluttered 
^around  us  for  a  short  time,  uttering  to  us  its  rather 
sweet  chirp.  This  was  an  event  of  no  small  interest 
to  our  party,  as  it  was  the  first  bird  seen  by  the  major- 
ity for  a  period  of  nine  months.  Even  the  sick  men 
on  the  sledge  requested  they  might  have  their  heads 
uncovered  and  lifted  so  as  to  obtain  a  glimpse  of  the 
little  warbler." 

Conditions  steadily  changed  from  bad  to  worse,  and 
on  June  2  the  sledge  party  was  simply  a  band  of  crip- 
ples. Five  helpless  invalids  were  in  their  sleeping- 
bags  on  the  sledge,  four  others  were  barely  able  to  crawl 
along,  leaving  only  six  men  and  two  officers  to  drag 
their  sick  comrades  and  the  heavily  loaded  sledge. 

On  June  5  they  camped  on  land,  about  seven  miles 
south  of  Cape  Joseph  Henry,  and  were  cheered  and  en- 
couraged by  having  a  meal  of  fresh  hare,  which  had 
been  thoughtfully  cached  for  them  by  a  travelling  party. 
Unfortunately  they  came  to  the  shore  a  day  too  late, 
for  on  visiting  the  depot  Markham  learned  from  a  note 
**to  our  disappointment  that  Captain  Nares,  May,  and 
Fielden  had  only  left  for  the  ship  the  previous  day. 
This  was  very  unfortunate." 

Although  temporarily  braced  up  by  fresh  meat  and 
by   delicacies   from   the   depot,   the   party   reached   its 


Parr's  Lonely  March  259 


effective  end  the  following  day,  June  6.  Five  invalids 
were  on  the  sledge,  four  others  had  to  lie  down  on  the 
snow  and  rest  every  thirty  or  forty  yards,  and  a  tenth 
man  was  quite  near  the  end,  while  the  party  had 
wandered  a  distance  from  the  road. 

Markham  fully  realized  the  critical  situation  of  the 
party  and  writes:  "So  rapid  had  been  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  disease  that  it  was  only  too  palpable  that 
immediate  succor  was  necessary  for  our  salvation.  At 
the  rate  of  progress  we  were  making,  it  would  take  us 
fully  three  weeks  to  reach  the  ship,  although  only  forty 
miles  distant;  and  who  would  there  be  left  in  three 
v.eeks'  time.''  The  few  who  were  still  strong  enough 
to  drag  the  sledges  would  barely  last  as  many  days!" 

In  his  field  journal  he  records  on  June  6:  "After  a 
lonjr  consultation  with  Parr  it  has  been  resolved  that  he 
shall  proceed  to-morrow  morning,  if  fine,  and  walk  to 
the  ship.  Our  only  chance  of  saving  life  is  by  receiving 
succor  as  soon  as  possible.  Although  the  distance  from 
us  to  the  ship  is  nearly  forty  miles,  over  floes  covered 
with  deep  snow  and  girt  with  heavy  hummocks,  he 
has  nobly  volunteered  to  attempt  it,  and  has  con- 
fidence in  his  being  able  to  accomplish  it.  He  is  the 
only  one  of  the  party  strong  enough  to  undertake  such 
a  march." 

Parr  knew  the  strain  that  such  a  dangerous  and  diflS- 
cult  journey  involved,  so  he  arranged  his  equipment  and 
laid  his  plans  accordingly.  As  lightly  outfitted  as  was 
safe,  he  started  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  wisely 
avoiding  the  disadvantages  of  day  travel.     The  night 


26o  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

gave  him  the  needed  lower  temperatures  with  firmer 
snow-crust,  and  avoided  the  snow-blinding  sun-glare, 
as  the  course  was  to  the  south  which  brought  the  mid- 
night sun  on  the  traveller's  back  and  so  spared  his  eyes, 
while  more  clearly  disclosing  the  irregularities  of  the  ice. 

Most  fortunately  there  was  no  wind,  the  weather 
was  fine,  the  air  so  clear  that  to  the  westward  stood 
sharply  outlined  the  coast  of  Grant  Land  along  which 
the  heroic  officer  had  often  travelled  during  the  past 
year.  This  enabled  him  to  keep  a  straight  course,  and 
saved  him  from  the  dangers  of  straying  to  which  one  is 
liable  in  thick  or  stormy  weather  when  travel  must  be 
slowly  made  by  careful  compass  bearings.  He  took 
with  him  food  for  a  single  day  only,  with  a  small  spirit 
lamp  so  that  in  extreme  need  he  could  start  a  fire,  melt 
ice  for  drinking-water,  or  warm  a  scanty  meal.  With 
his  belt  well  pulled  up,  his  foot-gear  carefull}'-  and  not 
too  tightly  adjusted,  ice-chisel  in  hand  and  snow- 
goggles  over  his  eyes,  he  said  *'Good-by, "  and  started 
amid  the  answering  "God-speeds"  of  his  comrades, 
which  long  re-echoed  in  his  ears  as  so  many  appeals  for 
aid  and  stimulants  to  action. 

Two  routes  were  open  to  him  to  the  Alert.  Possibly 
the  safer  way  in  the  advanced  stage  of  oncoming  sum- 
mer, but  certainly  a  much  longer  route,  lay  along  the 
ice-foot  of  the  coast,  which  from  the  next  headland  made 
a  long  detour  to  the  westward  around  Marco  Polo  Bay. 
The  shorter  air-line  route  was  across  the  sea  ice,  now 
fast  decaying  under  the  summer  sun,  with  the  certainty 
of  many  air-holes  and  possible  pitfalls  where  tides  and 


Parr's  Lonely  March  261 

pressure,  sun  and  currents  had  broken  and  wasted  the 
winter  floe.  Confident  in  his  keenness  of  vision  and 
in  his  famiharity  with  sea  ice,  he  took  the  shorter  air- 
line route,  though  its  rough  rubble-ice  and  shattered 
hummock-masses  were  sure  to  make  greater  demands 
on  his  physical  strength  and  to  require  vigilance  to 
avoid  accidents. 

On  and  on,  mile  after  mile,  hour  upon  hour,  he 
marched  slowly  but  steadily  onward,  stumbling  often 
and  halting  only  when  road  conditions  demanded. 
Now  and  then  the  loose  rubble-ice  separated  under  his 
feet,  leaving  him  uncertain  footing,  and  again  huge 
pressure-ridges  or  converging  hummocks  obliged  the 
weary  man  to  carefully  seek  a  safe  way  through  their 
tangled,  confused  masses.  The  greatest  danger  was 
that  of  breaking  through  thin  ice,  and  when  he  came  to 
some  attractive  piece  of  new  smooth  ice,  deceptively 
promising  fast  and  easy  travel,  it  was  his  rule  to  care- 
fully test  its  strength  and  thickness  with  his  ice-chisel 
before  venturing  to  cross  it.  It  was  not  that  his  life 
should  be  lost,  but  that  he  carried  with  him  the  gift  of 
life  or  the  message  of  death  to  others. 

Now  and  then  he  staggered  and  there  came  over  him 
a  sense  of  growing  weariness,  but  the  thought  of  his 
helpless,  dying  comrades  on  the  Great  Frozen  Sea  be- 
hind him,  and  of  the  eager,  willing  hearts  in  the  ship 
before  him,  steeled  his  nerves,  inspired  anew  his  heart, 
and  gave  fiery  energy  to  his  flagging  strength  and  fail- 
ing body. 

For  an  hour  or  two  as  he  marched  there  arose  faint 


262  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

doubts  as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  cross-sea  route,  for  it 
was  a  period  of  strong  tides  which  in  their  onward  sweep 
from  the  northern  Arctic  Ocean  warped  and  twisted 
the  mighty  ice-covering,  whose  total  disruption  was 
certain  at  the  first  violent  gale,  it  being  stayed  now 
only  b}'  the  almost  immovable  floes  of  enormous  thick- 
ness crowded  against  the  bordering  lands. 

Wearisome  and  monotonous  in  the  extreme  had  the 
main  pack  become  to  Parr  after  steady  travel  thereon 
for  more  than  two  months,  especially  during  the  brief 
periods  of  calm  weather  when  the  curling  wreaths  and 
trailing  streamers  of  the  almost  constantly  drifting 
snow  were  absent,  leaving  the  scene  unrelieved  in  its 
almost  hideous  desolation.  But  then  at  least  he  was 
free  from  the  nervous  tension  that  now  came  with  the 
loud  groans,  the  feeble  mutterings,  the  rasping  grindings 
of  floes,  and  the  loud  explosions  that  mark  the  surface 
changes  of  the  pack  from  heavy  tidal  action.  Es- 
pecially the  fear  of  a  fog-covered  floe  came  to  his 
mind,  as  vaporous  forms  like  water-spirits  rose  here 
and  there  from  fissures  forming  in  the  cracking  floes. 
Would  the  dreaded  fog  envelop  the  pack?  If  so,  what 
were  his  chances  of  reaching  the  Alert  ?  And  what 
fate  would  the  fog  bring  to  the  field  party? 

The  uneasy,  trembhng  ice-pack  in  thus  forcing  on 
him  a  realization  of  its  presence  through  motion  under 
his  feet  recalled  inevitabl}''  the  vision  of  the  Great 
Frozen  Sea,  which  if  it  had  insured  world-wide  fame 
to  his  faithful  sledge-mates  had  also  brought  death  so 
near  to  them. 


Parr's  Lonely  March  263 


It  was  therefore  with  an  overwhelming  sense  of  re- 
lief that  he  clambered  up  the  overtowering  ice-foot  at 
Depot  Point  and  once  more  placed  his  foot  on  hrm 
ground. 

Ascending  the  hill  he  scanned  the  horizon  and  was 
relieved  to  note  that  a  breath  of  southern  wind  was 
carrying  the  fog  to  the  north,  while  the  floes  toward  the 
ship  were  entirely  clear.* 

Behind  him  lay  Marco  Polo  Bay,  while  before  him 
was  the  seemingly  boundless  and  illimitable  expanse  of 
the  great  polar  pack.  Ample  food  dainties  in  the  cache 
at  his  feet  invited  refreshment,  while  physical  exhaus- 
tion, from  rough,  steady  travel,  demanded  rest  and 
sleep.  Either  need  would  have  here  stayed  a  man  of 
less  heroic  stamp  than  Parr,  but  he  paused  not  to  eat  a 
bit  of  food,  to  drink  a  cup  of  tea,  nor  to  take  the  brief 
rest  that  his  tired  muscles  so  sadly  needed. 

A  short  distance  beyond  he  scrambled  down  over  the 
precipitous  ice-foot  to  the  chaotic,  pressure-ridged  ice- 
masses  of  Black  Cliffs  Bay,  and  fixed  his  course  in  a  bee- 
line  to  the  farthest  cape,  Harle}-  Spit  to  the  southeast. 
He  could  not  later  recall  the  awful  trials  of  that  cross- 
bay  travel.  With  failing  strength  and  exhausted  body, 
to  his  confused  mind  the  furlongs  seemed  to  lengthen 
out  to  miles  and  the  hours  were  of  interminable  du- 
ration.    With   his   great   and  splendid  vitality  almost 

*  The  clearing  of  the  fog  was  providential  for  the  invalids.  Markham 
records  at  that  time:  "Our  usual  weather  overtook  us,  and  the  land  was 
entirely  concealed  by  the  fog.  This  increases  our  anxiety  about  Parr." 
The  solidarity  and  altruism  of  the  party  is  shown  by  the  anxiety  not  for 
themselves  but  for  others. 


264  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

utterly  spent,  he  reached  the  cape  after  nine  hours  of 
utmost  effort. 

A  short  mile  along  the  ice-foot  brought  in  sight  a 
standing  tent  which  stirred  his  heart  with  visions  of 
expectant  comrades  from  the  ship  with  God-sent  aid. 
Hastening  his  lagging  steps  as  best  he  could,  he  reached 
the  tent  and  raised  the  flap.  Alas!  it  was  empty,  and 
for  the  moment  he  was  overcome  with  bitter  and  dis- 
heartening disappointment.  Would  aid  ever  come  or 
help  be  obtained? 

With  the  mental  reaction  he  became  conscious  of  his 
fearfully  exhausted  condition  and  knew  that  he  could 
go  no  farther  without  rest  and  drink.  He  lighted  his 
tiny  spirit  lamp,  filled  the  pot  with  fresh  snow,  unrolled 
a  sleeping-bag  and  crept  into  it  for  warmth  and  rest. 
In  time,  all  too  short  it  was  to  the  worn-out  man,  the 
kettle  sang  its  usually  welcome  song  of  steam.  Then 
came  the  tea — strong  and  almost  boiling  it  stirred  his 
blood,  cheered  his  heart,  and  gave  vigor  to  his  wearied 
body;  he  needed  none  for  his  unfaiHng  courage.  On 
rising  he  found  that  his  legs  were  so  stiff  that  he  could 
barely  place  one  before  the  other,  but  with  a  great 
effort  of  will  he  was  soon  able  to  reach  the  floe  and  to 
go  on  toward  Cape  Sheridan,  beyond  which  at  a  short 
distance  lay  the  Alert,  and  safety. 

Pressing  onward  steadily,  though  with  decreasing 
speed,  from  hour  to  hour  he  hoped  against  hope  to  meet 
some  sailor  comrade  from  the  ship — either  hunters 
seeking  game  or  officers  taking  their  daily  exercise. 
Time  and  again  a  black  speck  on  the  floe  took  the 


Parr's  Lonely  March  265 


mocking  semblance  of  a  man  to  his  longing  eyes,  onl}' 
to  fade  into  an  inanimate  shape.  Time  and  again,  as 
he  stumbled  or  staggered,  it  seemed  as  though  he  would 
fail,  so  feeble  had  the  body  become  and  so  forceless  his 
will-power.  Could  he  reach  the  ship?  Would  help 
come  in  time  for  the  dying  men  behind?  Most  fear- 
ful of  all,  was  the  Alert  still  there?  Exposed  to  the 
full  force  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  had  she  suffered  ship- 
wTeck  or  was  she  unharmed?  If  safe,  why  did  no  one 
come? 

At  last  he  was  at  Cape  Sheridan,  and  oh!  happiness, 
there  against  the  southern  sky  were  outlined  the  bare 
spars  and  the  covered  deck  of  the  long-sought  Alert. 
She  was  but  a  few  miles  away,  yet  in  his  enfeebled  state 
she  seemed  to  recede  rather  than  to  advance  as  he 
dragged  himself  along. 

But  everything  has  its  end,  and  in  six  of  his  weariest 
hours  Parr  reached  the  ship,  strangely  enough  without 
being  seen.  Striding  silently  across  the  deck,  nodding 
only  to  the  officer  on  watch,  he  nervously  knocked  on 
the  panels  of  Captain  Nares's  cabin.  The  door  swung 
open  at  once  and  for  a  few  seconds  the  captain  stared 
vaguely  at  his  subordinate.  So  solemn  was  Parr's 
look,  so  soiled  his  garb,  so  weary  his  expression,  and 
so  travel-stained  was  his  person  that  Sir  George  at  first 
failed  to  recognize  him. 

Meanwhile  matters  had  steadily  gone  from  bad  to 
worse  with  Markham  and  his  men.  On  the  day  follow- 
ing Parr's  departure.  Gunner  George  Porter,  who  had 
been  sick  seven  weeks  with  suspected  scurv}',  was  taken 


266  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

with  retching,  with  recurring  spasms  and  stertorous 
breathing,  which  ended  in  his  death.  Regard  for  the 
safety  of  the  living  did  not  permit  of  carrying  him  far- 
ther, and  he  was  buried  on  the  floe,  in  a  deep  snow-drift 
near  the  camp.  At  the  head  of  his  grave  was  placed 
a  cross  improvised  from  the  oar  of  a  boat  and  a  sledge 
batten. 

The  day  following  the  death  of  Porter  only  five  of 
the  fourteen  men  were  able  to  enter  the  sledge  harness, 
so  that  Commander  Markham  had  to  make  the  needful 
sixth  sledgeman  to  move  the  party  forward.  The  next 
day  two  other  men  failed  utterly,  immediately  before 
the  arrival  of  the  relief  party  from  the  Alert — promptly 
despatched  as  a  result  of  Parr's  heroic  journey.  Before 
reaching  the  ship  there  remained  only  three  of  Mark- 
ham's  original  fifteen  men  who  were  not  dragged  on  the 
relief  sledges,  unable  to  walk. 

Heroic  as  was  the  dauntless  spirit  that  spurred  Parr 
to  the  journey  which  saved  the  lives  of  several  of  his 
field  comrades,  it  was  well  matched  by  his  indomitable 
will  and  by  his  powers  of  physical  endurance.  By  the 
route  traversed  Parr  marched  over  forty  miles,  which 
under  any  conditions  would  have  been  a  remarkable 
achievement,  without  extended  break  or  rest,  over  the 
rough  surface  of  the  Great  Frozen  Sea,  whose  broken, 
disjointed  ice-masses  present  difficulties  of  travel  to  an 
almost  incredible  degree. 

Not  only  was  Parr's  march  practically  unbroken, 
but  it  was  made  in  less  than  twenty-three  hours,  a 
somewhat  shorter  time  than  was  taken  by  Dr.  Moss 


Parr's  Lonely  March  267 

and  Lieutenant  May  with  a  fresh  dog  team  "on  a 
forced  march"  for  the  rehef  of  the  party. 

Parr's  conduct  after  his  most  heroic  actions  was 
thoroughly  modest  and  unassuming.  In  the  field  and 
later  at  home  his  life  appears  to  have  been  an  exempli- 
fication of  his  sledge  motto  during  the  northern  jour- 
neys, of  Faire  sans  dire  (To  do  and  not  to  talk). 

In  recalling  the  past  and  glorious  deeds  of  British 
seamen  in  arctic  work  during  the  past  century,  looking 
to  the  future  one  may  ask  with  Drayton: 

"O,  when  again  shall  Englishmen 
With  such  acts  fill  a  pen?" 


RELIEF  OF  AMERICAN  WHALERS  AT 
POINT  BARROW 


RELIEF  OF  AMERICAN  WHALERS  AT  POINT 

BARROW 

"  Nothing  is  here  for  tears,  nothing  to  wail 
Or  knock  the  breast;  no  weakness,  no  contempt. 
Dispraise  or  blame:  nothing  but  well  and  fair." 

— Milton. 

AFTER  a  long  and  dangerous  besetment  in  the 
r\  polar  ice  to  the  north  of  Bering  Strait,  the 
American  whaling-ship  Navrach  was  abandoned 
August  14,  1897.  Twenty-one  of  her  seamen  perished 
on  the  moving  ice-pack  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  in  their 
efforts  to  reach  land  across  the  drifting  ice.  Captain 
Whitesides  with  his  brave  wife  and  six  of  the  crew  in- 
trusted their  fortunes  to  the  sea,  and  almost  miracu- 
lously escaped  by  using  a  canvas  boat,  which  was  al- 
ternately hauled  across  the  floes  and  launched  where 
open  water  was  reached.  On  landing  at  Copper  Island, 
off  the  coast  of  Asia,  the  party  was  in  danger  of  death 
through  starvation  when  rescued  by  the  United  States 
revenue-cutter  Bear^  which  chanced  to  touch  at  that 
point.  The  news  of  the  loss  of  the  Navrach  and  the 
reports  of  very  bad  ice  conditions  in  the  Arctic  Ocean 
created  great  alarm  in  the  United  States,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  no  less  than  eight  whale-ships  with  crews  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty-five  men  were  missing  that 
autumn.     Appeals   for  prompt   aid  were  made  to  the 

President  of  the  United  States  by  the  members  of  the 

271 


272  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


chamber  of  commerce  of  San  Francisco  and  by  other 
interested  persons.  Refitting  in  three  weeks'  time,  the 
United  States  revenue-cutter  Beaty  manned  by  volun- 
teers under  Captain  Francis  Tuttle,  R.C.S.,  sailed  from 
Seattle  on  November  27,  1897,  and  wintered  at  Una- 
laska.  The  story  of  the  relief  of  the  whalers,  happily 
and  heroically  accomplished  by  this  expedition,  forms 
the  substance  of  this  sketch. 

From  the  character  of  the  duties  of  the  revenue- 
cutter  service  its  officers  and  men  are  not  favored  with 
such  frequent  opportunities  for  adventurous  deeds  as 
are  those  of  the  army  and  of  the  navy,  but  whenever 
occasion  has  arisen  they  have  ever  shown  those  quali- 
ties of  courage,  self-sacrifice,  and  devotion  which  go  far 
to  inspire  heroic  action. 

As  the  period  of  navigation  had  already  passed  for 
the  northern  seas,  the  Bear  was  to  winter  at  Dutch 
Harbor,  Unalaska,  communicating  with  the  distressed 
seamen  by  an  overland  expedition,  which  should  aid 
and  encourage  them  until  the  spring  navigation  should 
make  their  rescue  possible.  If  practicable  the  land 
party  was  to  be  set  ashore  on  the  north  side  of  Norton 
Sound,  near  Cape  Nome,  which  would  require  some 
eight  hundred  miles  of  sledge  travel  at  the  least. 

From  the  eager  volunteers  for  this  arduous  and  novel 
service.  Captain  Tuttle  approved  of  Lieutenant  D.  H. 
Jarvis,  commanding.  Lieutenant  E.  P.  Bertholf,  and 
Dr.  S.  J.  McCall,  with  a  reindeer  driver,  Koltchoff. 

With    dauntless    courage  and   skill   Captain  Tuttle 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    273 


skirted  the  growing  ice-fields  of  Bering  Sea,  seeking  in 
vain  a  lead  through  which  he  could  reach  Norton  Sound, 


Northwestern  Alaska. 


but  it  was  finally  clear  that  the  ship  could  not  be  put 
north  of  Nunavak  Island  without  danger  of  her  loss 
as  well  as  sealing  the  fate  of  the  whalers.     The  winter 


274  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

darkness,  storm  conditions,  an  uncharted  coast,  and 
drifting  ice  forced  him  to  land  the  party  as  far  north  of 
Kuskowim  Bay  as  could  be  safely  reached.  Fortu- 
nately, on  December  i6,  a  wild,  stormy  day,  the  shore 
ice  drifted  far  enough  seaward  to  enable  a  hasty  landing 
to  be  made  near  Cape  Vancouver.  There  were  fore- 
bodings of  evil  in  attempting  this  winter  journey  now 
stretched  out  to  fifteen  hundred  miles,  under  conditions 
which  increased  its  perils.  But  with  the  splendid  con- 
fidence and  magnificent  vitaHty  of  youth,  the  fearless 
revenue-officers  hailed  with  satisfaction  the  beginning 
of  their  arduous  journey  of  mercy  and  relief. 

South  of  the  landing  was  a  deserted  village,  but  fort- 
unately a  few  miles  to  the  north,  near  Cape  Vancouver, 
was  the  still  occupied  Eskimo  settlement  of  Tunanak. 
Ashore,  Jarvis  found  himself  in  difficulty,  for  the  snow- 
free  rocky  beach  was  impassable  for  his  sledges,  while 
he  was  without  boats.  Here,  as  elsewhere  on  this  jour- 
ney, the  native  aid  was  obtained  on  which  he  had 
counted  from  the  knowledge  of  the  kindly  feelings  of 
these  children  of  the  ice  that  he  had  gained  in  his 
past  cruises  in  the  Bering  Sea  region.  As  there  was 
now  an  ice-free  channel  along  the  coast,  the  Eskimo 
sea-hunters  deftly  lashed  together  in  pairs  their  kayaks 
(skin  canoes),  catamaran  fashion,  and  piled  thereon 
helter-skelter  the  various  supplies.  Jarvis  and  Bert- 
holf  watched  this  cargo-stowing  with  great  anxiety, 
not  unmingled  with  doubt  as  to  the  outcome  of  the 
voyage.  Following  the  progress  of  the  kayaks  and 
shouting  advice  and  encouragement  from  the  sea-shore. 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    275 

they  were  dismayed  to  see  now  and  then  a  breaking 
wave  threaten  to  overwhelm  the  boats  and  to  iinj  that 
the  short  sea  trip  had  ruined  much  of  the  precious  flour 
and  indispensable  hard  bread. 

Overhauling  his  cumbersome,  heavy  sledges  and  in- 
specting his  few  unsuitable  dogs,  he  knew  that  they  could 
never  do  all  the  work  required.  Fortunately  he  found 
a  half-breed  trader,  Alexis,  who  agreed  to  furnish  dogs, 
sledges,  and  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  party  as  far  as  the 
army  post  at  Saint  Michael.  As  the  half-breed  knew 
the  short  shore  route  and  was  famihar  with  the  location 
and  supplies  of  the  succession  of  native  villages,  this 
enabled  them  to  drop  much  of  their  heavy  baggage  and 
travel  light.  Their  outfit  was  carefully  selected,  con- 
sisting of  sleeping-bags,  changes  of  clothing,  camp- 
stoves,  rifles,  ammunition,  axes,  and  a  small  supply  of 
food. 

Their  three  native  sledges  were  open  box-frames,  ten 
feet  by  two  in  size  and  eighteen  inches  high,  resting 
on  wooden  runners  a  foot  high.  Tough,  pliant  lashings 
of  walrus  hide  bound  together  with  the  utmost  tightness 
the  frame  and  the  runners.  This  method  of  construc- 
tion, in  which  not  a  bit  of  iron  enters,  avoids  rigidity 
and  thus  gives  a  flexibility  and  life  to  the  sledge  which 
enables  it  to  withstand  shocks  and  endure  hard  usage, 
which  would  soon  break  a  solid  frame  into  pieces.  A 
cargo-cover  of  light  canvas  not  only  closely  fits  the  bot- 
tom and  sides  of  the  box-frame  but  overlaps  the  top. 
When  the  cargo-cover  is  neatly  hauled  taut  and  is  prop- 
erly lashed  to  the  sides  of  the  sledge  the  load,  if  it  has 


276  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

been  snugly  packed,  is  secure  from  accidents.  Its  com- 
pact mass  is  equally  safe  from  thievish  dogs,  from  the 
penetrating  drift  of  the  fierce  blizzards,  and  from  dan- 
gers of  loss  through  jolts  or  capsizings. 

Of  a  single  piece  for  each  dog,  the  harness  used  by 
the  natives  is  of  seal-skin;  the  half-breeds  often  make  it 
of  light  canvas,  not  only  as  better  suited  to  the  work 
but  especially  for  its  quality  of  non-eatableness  which 
is  a  vital  factor  during  days  of  dog-famine  on  long  jour- 
neys. The  harness  is  collar-shaped  with  three  long 
bands;  the  collar  slips  over  the  dog's  head  and  one 
band  extends  to  the  rear  over  the  animal's  back.  The 
other  bands  pass  downward  between  the  dog's  legs  and, 
triced  up  on  each  side,  are  fastened  permanently  to  the 
back-band,  where  there  is  also  attached  a  drag-thong  or 
pulling-trace  about  two  feet  long.  In  harnessing,  the 
three  loops  described  are  sHpped  respectively  over  the 
head  and  legs  of  the  dog. 

The  animals  are  secured  in  pairs  to  the  long  draught- 
rope  of  the  sledge  by  the  Alaskan  pioneers,  who  much 
prefer  this  method  to  the  old  plan  of  the  natives  where- 
by the  dogs  were  strung  out  in  single  file.  With  the 
dogs  in  couples  the  draught-line  is  shorter,  so  that  the 
better-controlled  animals  will  haul  a  larger  load. 

In  the  first  day's  journey  they  crossed  a  mountain 
range  two  thousand  feet  high,  and  in  making  the  de- 
scent of  the  precipitous  northern  slope  Jarvis  records  a 
sledging  expedient  almost  unique  in  sledge  travel.  The 
four  Eskimo  drivers  detached  the  dogs  from  the  sledge, 
and  winding   around   the  runners  small  chains  so  as 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    277 

to  sink  in  the  deep  snow  and  impede  their  progress, 
prepared  to  coast  down  the  mountain.  Two  men 
secured  themselves  firmly  on  each  sledge,  and  when 
once  started  the  descent  was  so  steep  that  the  sledges 
attained  a  fearful  speed,  which  brought  them  almost 
breathless  to  thp  bottom  of  the  range  in  ten  minutes. 

Jarvis  describes  in  graphic  language  the  trying  task 
of  feeding  the  always  famished,  wolf-like  dogs:  "They 
are  ever  hungry,  and  when  one  appears  with  an  armful 
of  dried  fish,  in  their  eagerness  to  get  a  stray  mouthful 
the  dogs  crowd  around  in  a  fighting,  jumping  mass, 
which  makes  it  difficult  to  keep  one's  balance.  After 
throwing  a  fish  to  each  dog,  it  takes  all  of  us  with  clubs 
to  keep  off  the  larger  fellows  and  to  see  that  the  weaker 
ones  keep  and  eat  their  share.  When  being  fed  they 
are  like  wild  animals — snarl,  bite,  and  fight  continually 
until  everything  is  eaten." 

As  the  dogs,  worn-out  by  the  hard  journey,  could  not 
be  replaced  by  fresh  ones  at  the  Eskimo  colony  of  Ki- 
yi-Iieng,  Bertholf  and  KoltchofF  waited  there  to  bring 
them  up  later,  while  Jarvis  and  McCall  pushed  on, 
marching  across  the  Yukon  delta  in  temperatures  below 
zero  daily.  They  found  the  natives  of  this  alluvial 
region  wretchedly  poor  and  illy  protected  against  the 
bitter  cold.  To  the  eye  they  were  a  motley  crowd,  as 
they  had  levied  tribute  for  clothing  on  the  birds  of  the 
air,  the  beasts  of  the  tundra,  the  fish  of  the  river,  and 
the  game  of  the  sea.  There  were  trousers  and  heavy 
boots  from  the  seal,  inner  jackets  of  the  breasts  of  the 
wild  geese,  fur  ornamentation  of  the  arctic  fox,  and  the 


278  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

poorer  Eskimos  even  made  boots,  when  seal  were  lack- 
ing, from  the  tanned  skin  of  the  Yukon  salmon. 

With  all  their  dire  poverty  they  were  not  unmindful 
of  their  duty  to  strangers  and  always  offered  the  shelter 
of  the  khazeem  (a  hut  built  for  general  use  by  the  un- 
married men,  from  which  women  are  rigidly  excluded). 
His  sense  of  fastidiousness  had  not  yet  left  Jarvis,  who 
surprised  the  Eskimos  by  tenting  in  the  midwinter  cold 
rather  than  endure  the  tortures  of  the  stifling  khazeem^ 
which  to  the  natives  was  a  place  of  comfort  and  pleasure. 
Of  this  half-underground  hut  Jarvis  says  in  part: 
"The  sides  are  of  drift-wood,  filled  in  with  brush.  The 
roof  is  ingeniously  made  by  laying  logs  along  the  sides 
and  lashing  them  thereto  with  walrus  thongs.  Two 
logs  notched  on  the  ends  to  fit  securely  are  then  laid 
across  the  first  logs  on  opposite  sides,  but  a  little  farther 
in  toward  the  centre.  This  method  is  repeated  until 
a  sort  of  arch  is  formed,  which  ie  filled  in  with  earth- 
covered  brush  leaving  a  small  hole  in  the  centre  of  the 
roof.  Other  drift-wood,  split  in  rough  slabs,  forms  the 
floor,  leaving  an  entrance  space  about  two  feet  square. 
From  this  hole  in  the  floor,  which  is  always  several  feet 
below  the  level  of  the  surrounding  ground,  an  entrance 
passage  has  been  dug  out  large  enough  for  a  man  to 
crawl  through  it  into  the  main  earth-floored  room. 
Over  the  entrance  opening  is  hung  a  skin  to  keep  out  the 
air,  while  the  roof  opening  is  covered  with  the  thin, 
translucent,  dried  intestines  of  the  seal  or  walrus,  which 
gives  famt  light  during  the  day. 

*Tn  the  khazeem  the  animal  heat  from  the  bodies  of 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    279 


the  natives,  with  that  from  seal-oil  lamps,  raises  the 
temperature  so  high  that  the  men  sit  around  with  the 
upper  part  of  the  body  entirely  naked.  The  only  ven- 
tilation is  through  a  small  hole  in  the  roof,  invariably 
closed  at  night  in  cold  weather.  The  condition  of  the 
air  can  be  better  imagined  than  described,  with  fifteen 
or  twenty  natives  sleeping  inside  the  small  room." 

The  culmination  of  danger  and  suffering  on  the  march 
in  the  delta  journey  was  at  Pikmiktellik,  when  they 
strayed  from  the  trail  and  nearlj'  perished  in  a  violent 
storm.  Almost  as  by  miracle  they  staggered  by  chance 
into  the  village  long  after  dark,  so  exhausted  that  with- 
out strength  to  put  up  tlieir  tent  they  gladly  occupied 
the  dreaded  khazeem. 

Twelve  days  brought  them  to  Saint  Michael,  where 
the)^  were  given  cordial  and  humane  aid  from  Colonel 
(now  General)  George  M.  Randall,  United  States  Army, 
and  the  agents  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  and  North 
American  Trading  Companies.  Without  such  help 
Jarvis  must  have  failed.  The  feet  of  his  dogs  were 
worn  bare  by  rapid,  rough  travel  of  three  hundred  and 
sevent3^-five  miles,  the  rubber-covered,  goat-skin  sleep- 
ing-bags were  cold  and  heavy,  which  in  bitterer  weather 
would  be  actually  dangerous.  Deerskin  clothmg  and 
fresh  dogs  were  necessary  for  rapid  travel  with  light 
loads  on  which  final  success  depended. 

Leaving  orders  for  Bertholf,  yet  far  behind,  to  bring 
up  relief  supplies  from  Unalaklik  to  Cape  Blossom,  by 
crossing  the  divide  at  the  head  of  Norton  Bay,  Jarvis 
and  McCall  pushed  ahead  on  January  i,  1898.     The 


28o  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

third  day  out  they  met  a  native  woman  travelling  south 
on  snow-shoes,  who  told  them  that  she  was  with  her 
husband  and  Mate  Tilton  of  the  Belvedere;  the  two 
parties  had  passed  each  other,  unseen,  on  trails  three 
hundred  feet  apart.  Tilton  brought  news  even  worse 
than  had  been  expected.  Three  ships  had  been  crushed 
by  the  ice-pack,  two  losing  all  their  provisions,  while 
five  other  ships  were  frozen  up  in  the  ocean  ice.  As  the 
worn-out  mate  went  south,  Jarvis  pushed  on  with  new 
energy,  realizing  the  great  need  ahead. 

Severe  storms  and  deep  snow  made  travel  very  slow, 
and  at  times  the  runners  sank  so  deep  that  the  body  of 
the  sledge  dragged,  while  the  dogs  were  almost  buried 
in  their  efforts  to  struggle  on.  They  soon  realized  that 
actual  arctic  travel  is  far  from  being  like  the  usual 
pictures  of  dog-sledging.  Instead  of  frisky  dogs  with 
tails  curled  over  their  backs,  with  drivers  comfortably 
seated  on  the  sledge  cracking  a  whip  at  the  flying  team, 
snarling  dogs  and  worn-out  men  tramped  slowly  and 
silently  through  the  unbroken  snow. 

It  very  rarely  occurs  that  there  is  either  a  beaten  or 
a  marked  trail,  so  the  lead  is  taken  by  a  man  who  keeps 
in  advance,  picking  out  the  best  road,  while  his  comrades 
are  hard  at  work  lifting  the  sledge  over  bad  places  or 
keeping  it  from  capsizing.  The  king  dogs,  who  lead 
the  way  and  set  the  pace,  never  stray  from  the  broken 
path  save  in  rare  instances  of  sighting  tempting  game, 
but  follow  exactly  the  trail-breaker.  One  day  Jarvis 
came  to  fresh,  deep  snow,  where  it  took  all  four  men  to 
break  a  way  for  the  sledge,  and  when  they  themselves 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    281 

were  worn  out  they  had  the  misery  of  seeing  their 
utterly  exhausted  dogs  lie  down  on  the  trail,  indiffer- 
ent equally  to  the  urging  voice  or  the  cutting  whip. 
That  wretched  night  the  party  had  to  make  its  camp 
in  the  open  instead  of  at  one  of  the  nativ^e  huts  which 
were  always  in  view.. 

The  dog  teams  were  sent  back  from  the  Swedish 
mission,  Golovin  Bay,  where  reindeer  were  available. 
Of  this  new  and  unusual  method  of  travel,  Jarvis,  who 
drove  a  single-deer  sledge,  says:  "All  hands  must  be 
ready  at  the  same  time  when  starting  a  deer-train.  As 
soon  as  the  other  animals  see  the  head  team  start  they 
are  off  with  a  jump,  and  for  a  short  time  the}'  keep  up  a 
very  high  rate  of  speed.  If  one  is  not  quick  in  jumping 
and  in  holding  on  to  his  sledge,  he  is  likel}'  either  to  lose 
his  team  or  be  dragged  bodily  along. 

"The  deer  is  harnessed  with  a  well-fitting  collar  of 
two  flat  pieces  of  wood  from  which  short  traces  go  back 
to  a  breastplate  or  single-tree  under  the  body.  From 
this  a  single  trace,  protected  by  soft  fur  to  prevent 
chafing,  runs  back  to  the  sledge.  A  single  line  made  fast 
to  the  halter  is  used  for  guiding,  and,  kept  slack,  is  onh'^ 
pulled  to  guide  or  stop  the  deer.  A  hard  pull  brings 
the  weight  of  the  sledge  on  the  head  of  the  deer  and 
generally  brings  him  to  a  stop.  No  whip  is  used,  for 
the  timid  deer  becomes  easil}^  frightened  and  then  is 
hard  to  control  and  quiet  down.  The  low,  wide  sledges 
with  broad  runners  are  hard  to  pack  so  as  to  secure 
and  protect  the  load. "  As  the  dogs  naturally  attack 
the  deer,  it  was  henceforth  necessary  to  stop  outside 


282  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

the  Eskimo  villages,  unharness  the  animals,  and  send 
them  to  pasture  on  the  nearest  beds  of  reindeer  moss. 

Jarvis  thus  relates  his  straying  during  a  violent  bliz- 
zard: **Soon  after  dark  my  deer  wandered  from  the 
trail,  became  entangled  in  drift-wood  on  the  beach,  and 
finally  wound  up  by  running  the  sledge  full  speed  against 
a  stump,  breaking  the  harness,  dragging  the  line  from  my 
hand,  and  disappearing  in  the  darkness  and  flying  snow. 
It  was  impossible  to  see  ten  yards  ahead,  and  it  would 
be  reckless  to  start  off  alone,  for  the  others  were  in  ad- 
vance, and  I  might  wander  about  all  night,  become  ex- 
hausted, and  perhaps  freeze.  I  had  nothing  to  eat,  but 
righting  the  sledge  I  got  out  my  sleeping-bag  in  its  lee 
and  made  myself  as  comfortable  as  possible."  His 
comrades  were  greatly  alarmed  as  a  reindeer  dashed  by 
them,  and  fearing  disaster  hastened  back  on  the  trail, 
which,  although  followed  with  difficulty  on  account  of 
the  blinding  snow,  brought  them  to  the  lieutenant  still 
unharmed. 

If  the  relief  expedition  was  to  be  of  use  to  the  ship- 
wrecked men  it  was  important  that  food  should  be  car- 
ried north.  As  this  was  impossible  by  sledge,  it  was 
evident  that  the  sole  method  was  to  carry  meat  on 
the  hoof.  The  sole  sources  of  supply  consisted  of  two 
herds  of  reindeer,  at  Teller  and  at  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales.  If  these  herds  could  be  purchased,  and  if  the 
services  of  skilled  herders  could  be  obtained  and  the 
herd  could  be  driven  such  a  long  distance  then  the 
whalers  could  be  saved.  To  these  three  problems 
Jarvis  now  bent  his  powers  of  persuasion  and  of  ad- 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    2S3 


ministrative  ability,  feeling  that  lives  depended  on  the 
outcome  and  that  he  must  not  fail. 

The  reindeer  belonged  in  part  to  an  Eskimo,  Artisar- 
look,  and  in  part  to  the  American  Missionary  Society, 
under  the  control  and  management  of  Mr.  H.  W.  Lopp. 
Without  the  assent  and  active  aid  of  these  two  men  the 
proposed  action  would  be  impossible.  Would  he  be 
able  to  persuade  these  men  to  give  him  their  entire 
plant  and  leave  themselves  destitute  for  men  whom 
they  had  never  seen  and  knew  of  only  to  hold  them  in 
fear?  Would  they  consider  the  plan  practicable,  and 
would  they  leave  their  families  and  go  on  the  arctic 
trail  in  the  midst  of  an  Alaskan  winter  ?  If  they  thought 
it  a  bounden  duty,  what  was  to  happen  to  their  families 
during  their  absence?  Day  after  day  these  questions 
rose  in  the  lieutenant's  mind  to  his  great  disquietude. 

With  Jarvis  and  Bertholf  there  was  the  stimulus  of 
the  esprit  de  corps,  the  honor  of  the  service,  always  act- 
ing as  a  spur  to  their  heroic  labors,  while  in  the  case  of 
Dr.  McCall  there  was  also  that  sense  of  personal  devo- 
tion to  the  relief  of  suffering  that  inspires  the  medical 
profession  as  a  whole. 

On  January  19  Jarvis  reached  the  house  of  Artisar- 
look,  when  he  "almost  shrank  from  the  task."  From 
this  untaught,  semi-civilized  native,  wrestling  for  a  bare 
subsistence  with  harsh,  forbidding  nature,  what  favor 
could  be  expected  ?  The  starving  men  were  of  an  ahen 
race,  and  of  that  class  from  which  too  often  his  own  peo- 
ple had  reaped  degradation,  suffered  outrage,  and  en- 
dured wrongs  too  grievous  to  be  ignored  or  forgotten. 


284  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

To  relieve  these  men  Artisarlook  must  voluntarily  loan 
his  entire  herd  of  reindeer  without  certainty  of  replace- 
ment. He  must  leave  behind  him  his  wife,  unprotected 
and  subject  to  the  vicissitudes  of  an  arctic  environment. 
He  must  also  endure  the  hardships  and  sufferings  in- 
cident to  a  midwinter  drive,  in  the  coldest  month  of  the 
year,  of  reindeer  across  a  country  unknown  to  him — a 
desperate  venture  that  might  cost  him  his  life.  Al- 
truistic souls  of  the  civilized  world  might  make  such 
sacrifices,  but  would  this  Alaskan  Eskimo.'' 

Of  the  crisis  Jarvis  writes:  *T  almost  shrank  from 
the  task.  He  and  his  wife  were  old  friends,  but  how 
to  induce  them  to  give  up  their  deer — their  absolute 
property — and  how  to  convince  them  that  the  govern- 
ment would  return  an  equal  number  at  some  future 
time  was  quite  another  matter.  Besides,  he  and  the 
natives  gathered  about  him  were  dependent  on  the 
herd  for  food  and  clothing.  If  I  took  the  deer  and 
Artisarlook  away  these  people  were  likely  to  starve 
unless  some  other  arrangements  were  made  for  their 
living. 

*T  explained  carefully  what  the  deer  were  wanted  for; 
that  he  must  let  me  have  the  deer  of  his  own  free  will, 
and  trust  to  the  government  for  an  ample  reward  and 
the  return  of  an  equal  number  of  deer. 

"Artisarlook  and  his  wife  Mary  held  a  long  and 
solemn  consultation  and  finally  explained  their  situa- 
tion. They  were  sorry  for  the  white  men  at  Point  Bar- 
row and  they  were  glad  to  be  able  to  help  them.  They 
would  let  me  have  their  deer,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    285 

three  in  number,  which  represented  their  all,  if  I  would 
be  directly  responsible  for  them. 

"I  had  dreaded  this  interview  for  fear  that  Artisar- 
look  might  refuse,  but  his  nobility  of  character  could 
have  no  better  exposition  than  the  fact  that  he  was 
willing  to  give  up  his  property,  leave  his  family,  and 
go  eight  hundred  miles  to  help  white  men  in  distress, 
under  a  simple  promise  that  his  property  should  be  re- 
turned to  him." 

Has  there  ever  been  a  finer  instance  of  the  full  faith 
of  man  in  brother  man  than  is  shown  in  this  simple  pact, 
by  word  of  mouth,  under  the  dark,  gloomy  sky  of  an 
Alaskan  midwinter?  Far  from  the  business  marts  of 
crowded  cities,  in  the  free  open  of  broad  expanses  of 
country,  there  are  often  similar  instances  of  man's 
trusting  generosity  and  of  personal  self-sacrifice,  but 
more  often  between  those  of  kindred  race  than  between 
the  civilized  man  and  the  aborigine. 

Giving  written  orders  on  the  traders  to  tide  over  the 
winter  for  the  natives,  Jarvis  pushed  on,  leaving  Artisar- 
look  and  his  herders  to  follow  with  the  deer.  Mean- 
time the  Heutenant  had  adopted  the  native  garb,  say- 
ing: "I  had  determined  to  do  as  the  people  who  lived 
in  the  country  did— to  dress,  travel,  and  live  as  they  did, 
and  if  necessary  to  eat  the  same  food.  I  found  the 
only  way  to  get  along  was  to  conform  to  the  customs 
of  those  who  had  solved  many  of  the  problems  of  exist- 
ence in  the  arctic  climate."  His  clothing  consisted 
of  close-fitting  deerskin  trousers  and  socks,  with  hair 
next  t«  the  skin;  deerskin  boots,  hair  out,  with  heavy 


286  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

seal-skin  soles;  two  deerskin  shirts,  one  with  hair  oilt 
and  the  other  with  hair  toward  the  skin;  close  hoods, 
with  fringing  wolfskin,  and  mittens,  the  whole  weigh- 
ing only  about  ten  pounds.  In  stormy  weather  he 
wore  an  outer  shirt  and  overalls  of  drilling,  which  kept 
the  drifting  snow  from  filling  up  and  freezing  in  a  mass 
the  hair  of  the  deerskins. 

The  five  days'  travel  to  the  Teller  reindeer  station, 
near  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  were  filled  with  most  bitter 
experiences.  The  temperature  fell  to  seventy-two  de- 
grees below  freezing;  the  sea  ice  over  which  they  trav- 
elled became  of  almost  incredible  roughness;  while  fear- 
ful blizzards  sprang  up.  With  increasing  northing  the 
days  became  shorter  and  the  exhausted  reindeer  had 
to  be  replaced  by  dogs.  Much  of  the  travel  was  in 
darkness,  with  resultant  capsizings  of  sledges,  frequent 
falls,  and  many  bodily  bruises.  Of  one  critical  situation 
he  reports:  "The  heavy  sledge  was  continually  capsizing 
in  the  rough  ice.  About  eight  o'clock  at  night  I  was 
completely  played  out  and  quite  wilUng  to  camp.  But 
Artisarlook  said  No!  that  it  was  too  cold  to  camp 
without  wood  (they  depended  on  drift-wood  for  their 
fires),  and  that  the  ice-foot  along  the  land  was  in  dan- 
ger of  breaking  off  the  shore  at  any  minute.  In  the 
darkness  I  stepped  through  an  ice-crack,  and  my  leg  to 
the  knee  was  immediately  one  mass  of  ice.  Urging 
the  dogs,  we  dragged  along  till  midnight  to  a  hut  that 
Artisarlook  had  before  mentioned.  A  horrible  place, 
no  palace  could  have  been  more  welcome.  Fifteen  peo- 
ple were  already  sleeping  in  the  hut,  the  most   filthy 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    287 

I  saw  in  Alaska,  only  ten  by  twelve  feet  in  size  and 
five  feet  high.  Too  tired  to  care  for  the  filth,  too  tired 
even  to  eat,  I  was  satisfied  to  take  off  my  wet  cloth- 
ing, crawl  into  my  bag,  and  to  sleep."  Failure  to  find 
the  house  and  to  have  his  frozen  clothing  dried  would 
have  cost  the  lieutenant  his  Hfe. 

On  arriving  at  Teller  station  he  had  a  new  problem 
to  solve — to  win  over  the  agent.  He  had  high  hopes,  for 
although  this  representative  of  a  missionary  society  was 
living  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  world,  yet  he  had  be- 
come familiar  with  the  vicissitudes  of  the  frontier,  and 
from  vocation  and  through  his  associations  was  readily 
moved  to  acts  of  humanity.  Jarvis  set  forth  the  situa- 
tion to  Mr.  W.  T.  Lopp,  the  superintendent,  adding  that 
he  considered  Lopp's  personal  services  to  be  indispensa- 
ble, as  he  knew  the  country,  was  famihar  with  the  cus- 
toms and  characteristics  of  the  natives,  and  was  expert 
in  handling  deer.  Lopp  replied  that  "the  reindeer  had 
been  builded  on  by  his  people  as  their  wealth  and  sup- 
port, and  to  lose  them  would  make  a  break  in  the  work 
that  could  not  be  repaired.  Still,  in  the  interests  of 
humanity  he  would  give  them  all,  explain  the  case  to 
ti^.e  Eskimos,  and  induce  them  to  give  their  deer  also 
[aggregating  about  three  hundred]."  Lopp  also  gave 
his  own  knowledge,  influence,  and  personal  service,  his 
wife,  with  a  noble  disregard  for  her  own  comfort  and 
safety  at  being  left  alone  with  the  natives,  "urging  him 
to  go,  believing  it  to  be  his  duty." 

It  is  needless  to  recite  in  detail  the  trials  and  troubles 
that   dail}'   arose   in   driving  across   trackless   tundras 


288  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

(the  swampy,  moss-covered  plains),  in  the  darkness 
of  midwinter,  this  great  herd  of  more  than  four  hun- 
dred timid,  intractable  reindeer.  Throughout  the  eight 
hundred  miles  of  travel  the  reindeer  drivers  had  to 
carefully  avoid  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Eskimo 
villages  for  fear  of  the  ravenous,  attacking  dogs,  who, 
however,  on  one  occasion  succeeded  in  stampeding  the 
whole  herd.  For  days  at  a  time  the  herders  were  at 
their  wits'  ends  to  guard  the  deer  against  gaunt  packs 
of  ravenous  wolves,  who  kept  on  their  trail  and,  despite 
their  utmost  vigilance,  succeeded  in  killing  and  maiming 
several  deer.  A  triumphal  but  venturesome  feat  of 
Lopp's  was  the  driving  of  the  herd  across  the  sea-floes 
of  the  broad  expanse  of  Kotzebue  Sound,  thus  saving 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  land  travel  and  two 
weeks  of  valuable  time. 

While  there  were  eight  skilled  herders,  Lapps  and 
Eskimos,  the  most  effective  work  was  that  done  by  a 
little  Lapp  deer-dog,  who  circled  around  the  herd  when 
on  the  march  to  prevent  the  deer  from  straying.  If  a 
deer  started  from  the  main  herd  the  dog  was  at  once  on 
his  trail,  snapping  at  his  heels  and  turning  him  toward 
the  others.  Very  few  deer  stra3^ed  or  were  lost,  and 
three  hundred  and  sixtj^-two  were  brought  to  Barrow 
in  good  condition. 

Travelling  in  advance,  following  the  shore  line  by  dog- 
sledge,  Jarvis  and  McCall  were  welcomed  with  warm 
generosity  even  by  the  most  forlorn  and  wretched 
Eskimos,  who  asked  them  into  their  huts,  cared  for  their 
dogs,  dried  their  clothes,  and  did  all  possible  for  their 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    289 


safety  and  comfort.  The  relief  party,  however,  suffered 
much  from  the  begging  demands  of  almost  starving 
natives,  from  the  loss  of  straying  dogs,  and  the  deser- 
tion of  several  unreliable  native  employees.  They  were 
quite  at  the  end  of  their  food  when  they  reached,  at 
Cape  Krusenstern,  their  depot.  This  had  been  brought 
up  across  country  from  Unalaklik  through  the  great 
energy  and  indomitable  courage  of  Bertholf,  whose  jour- 
ney and  sufferings  were  no  less  striking  than  those  of 
his  comrades. 

Inexpressible  was  the  joy  of  the  party  when,  fifty 
miles  south  of  Point  Barrow,  the  masts  of  the  Belvederey 
a  whale-ship  fast  in  the  ice,  were  sighted.  Four  days 
later  they  were  at  the  point,  their  marvellous  journey 
of  eighteen  hundred  miles  ended  and  their  coming  wel- 
comed as  a  providential  relief. 

They  found  conditions  frightful  as  regards  the  shel- 
ter, health,  and  sanitation  of  the  shipwrecked  whalers. 
Three  ships  had  been  lost  and  another  was  ice-beset 
beyond  power  of  saving.  The  captains  of  the  wrecked 
ships  had  abandoned  the  care  and  control  of  their  men 
as  to  quarters,  clothing,  food,  and  general  welfare.  Pro- 
visions were  very  short,  and  the  seamen  were  depending 
on  their  safety  through  successful  hunting  among  the 
caribou  herds  in  the  neighborhood  of  Point  Barrow, 
which  were  rapidly  disappearing. 

Jarvis  at  once  took  charge  of  the  situation.  Dr. 
McCall  found  the  seamen's  quarters  in  a  most  horrible 
condition,  its  single  window  giving  but  a  feeble  glimmer 
of  light  at  mid-day,  and  its  ventilation  confined  to  the 


290  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

few  air  draughts  through  cracks  in  the  walls.  Eighty  sea- 
men occupied  for  sleeping,  shelter,  and  cooking  a  single 
room  twenty  by  fifty  feet  in  size,  wherein  they  were  so 
badly  crowded  that  there  was  scarcely  room  for  all  to 
stand  when  out  of  their  bunks  together.  Moisture  was 
continually  dropping  from  the  inner  ceihng  and  walls, 
which  were  covered  with  frost.  Their  bedding  was 
never  dry,  sooty  grease  was  coated  over  all  things,  and 
no  place  was  free  from  great  accumulations  of  filth  and 
its  accompaniments.  The  whalers  were  "scarcely  rec- 
ognizable as  white  men, "  and  large  numbers  of  them 
would  without  doubt  have  perished  of  disease  but  for 
the  opportune  arrival  of  the  relief  party. 

Order,  cleanliness,  decency,  and  discipline  were  in- 
stituted, the  men  were  distributed  in  light,  airy  rooms, 
their  clothing  was  washed  and  renovated,  and  inter- 
course with  the  natives  prohibited.  By  inspection, 
precept,  and  command  the  general  health  greatly  im- 
proved. At  every  opportunity  individual  men  were 
sent  south  by  occasional  sledge  parties.  Hunting  was 
systematized,  but  it  failed  to  produce  enough  food  for 
the  suffering  whalers.  Recourse  was  then  had  to  the 
herds  driven  north  by  Lopp  and  Artisarlook,  and 
with  the  slaughter  of  nearly  two  hundred  reindeer 
suitable  quantities  of  fresh  meat  were  issued.  Out  of 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  whalers  only  one  died 
of  disease.  Captain  Tuttle  by  daring  seamanship 
reached  Icy  Cape  July  22,  1898,  and  took  on  board 
the  Bear  about  a  hundred  men  whose  ships  were  lost. 

With  generous  feeling  Jarvis  gives  credit  in  his  re- 


Relief  of  American  Whalers  at  Point  Barrow    291 

port  to  the  whaling  agent,  A.  C.  Brower,  and  to  "the 
goodness  and  help  of  the  natives  [Eskimos],  who  denied 
themselves  to  save  the  white  people,"  subordinating 
with  true  heroic  modesty  his  work  to  all  others. 

Gold  and  commerce  have  peopled  the  barren  Alaskan 
wastes  which  were  the  scenes  of  this  adventurous  jour- 
ney with  its  unique  equipment  and  its  cosmopolitan 
personnel  of  Eskimo,  Lapp,  and  American. 

While  these  men  worked  not  for  fame  but  for  the 
lives  of  brother  men,  yet  in  Alaskan  annals  should  stand 
forever  recorded  the  heroic  deeds  and  unselfish  acts 
of  Jarvis  and  McCall,  of  Bertholf  and  Lopp,  and  of 
that  man  among  men — Eskimo  Artisarlook. 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  ARCTIC  TRAIL 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  ARCTIC  TRAIL 

"  Blest  river  of  salvation! 
Pursue  thy  onward  way; 
Flow  thou  to  every  nation. 
Nor  in  thy  richness  stay; 
Stay  not  till  all  the  lowly 

Triumphant  reach  their  home; 
Stay  not  till  all  the  holy 

Proclaim — The  Lord  is  come  !" 

— S.  F.  Smith. 

A  MONG  the  heroic  figures  in  the  history  of  the 
y\  human  race  there  should  be  none  to  connmand 
greater  admiration  than  the  typical  missiona- 
ries who,  in  foreign  lands  and  among  uncivilized  tribes, 
have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  good  of  man  and  to  the 
glory  of  God.  Of  the  countless  many  through  the  ages 
may  be  named  a  few  whose  labors,  actuated  by  a  spirit 
of  lofty  endeavor,  particularly  appeal  to  the  imagina- 
tion and  love  of  the  people.  Such  men  were  Schwarz  and 
Carey,  in  India;  Livingstone,  in  Africa;  Egede,  in  Green- 
land; Eliot  and  Whitney,  in  America.  Of  earnest  mis- 
sionaries in  North  America  there  are  many  worthy  of 
special  notice,  and  among  these  are  not  a  few  of  French 
birth  whose  memories  remain  fragrant  through  heroic 
deeds  and  unselfish  labors.  Their  work  has  entered 
into  the  life  of  the  people,  though  Pere  Marquette  is 
perhaps  the  only  one  whose  deeds  have  affected  the 
growth  of  a  nation.     Of  French   missionaries  in  late 

295 


296  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

years  whose  activities  have  been  exerted  within  the 
arctic  circle  may  be  mentioned  M.  Emile  Petitot,  who 
served  fifteen  years  in  the  arctic  regions  of  Canada, 
principally  in  the  water-sheds  of  the  Anderson,  the  Mac- 
kenzie, and  the  Yukon.  Apart  from  his  labors  of  piety 
and  of  love  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  northwestern 
Canada,  M.  Petitot,  in  a  dozen  or  more  volumes,  has 
contributed  largely  to  our  knowledge  of  the  customs, 
of  the  beliefs,  of  the  methods  of  life,  and  of  the  human 
qualities  of  the  aborigines  among  whom  he  has  labored. 
Stationed  on  the  shores  of  Great  Slave  Lake  in  1863, 
in  the  autumn  of  the  following  year  he  descended  the 
Mackenzie  and  proceeded  via  Fort  Simpson  for  mis- 
sionary labors  at  Fort  Good  Hope.  With  his  experi- 
ences in  such  voyages,  and  especially  with  his  visit  to 
the  shores  of  the  polar  sea,  this  tale  is  principally  con- 
cerned. 

Coming  from  the  highly  civilized  and  elaborately 
circumscribed  life  of  France,  M.  Petitot  was  vividly  im- 
pressed with  the  enormous  and  underlying  difference  in 
the  methods  of  life  in  the  two  countries,  the  more  so 
on  account  of  his  youth.  He  says  of  this :  "It  is  well  to 
know  the  advantages  of  an  isolated  life.  There  is  an 
entire  exemption  from  taxes,  tithes,  levies  in  kind,  quit- 
rents,  poll-taxes,  tariffs,  customs  duties,  town  duties 
(octroi),  inheritance-taxes,  land  rents,  forced  labor, 
etc.,  etc." 

On  the  other  hand  he  finds  in  the  northern  wilds 
**  Perfect  security,  unchanging  peacefulness,  liberty  to 


The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail  297 

plant,  to  cut,  to  clear  land,  to  mow,  to  reap,  to  fish, 
to  hunt,  to  take  and  to  give,  to  build  and  to  tear 
down" — in  short,  unrestricted  personal  liberty  of  action 
as  of  thought. 

In  changing  his  station  to  the  far  north  he  made  his 
first  voyage  down  the  magnificent  Mackenzie,  which  in 


Peti tot's  Trail, 


C/{£AT3tA 

/ranA/Za 


Liverpool  Bay  Region. 


the  area  of  its  drainage  basin,  its  outflow,  its  length,  and 
its  wondrous  scenery  is  scarcely  surpassed  by  any  other 
river  of  the  world.  His  first  stage  of  travel  brought 
him  to  Fort  Simpson,  where  he  came  in  contact  with 
the  chief  factors  or  agents  of  the  Hudson  Bay  posts  to 
the  north,  w^ho  gathered  there  in  early  autumn  to  bring 
the  winter  furs  and   to  obtain   the   annual  supply  of 


298  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


food  and  of  trading  goods  known  as  their  outfit.  For 
these  men  it  was  the  hoHday  season  of  the  year,  the 
only  break  in  the  fearful  monotony  of  their  isolated 
lives,  when  they  see  their  kind  and  speak  their  native 


tongue. 


The  final  glass  had  been  drunk,  the  precious  outfit* 
had  been  stowed  safely  under  cover,  the  final  word  said, 
and  then  the  Indian  steersman  dexterously  turned  his 
paddle.  The  voyage  to  the  real  north  thus  began,  and 
the  missionary's  happiness  was  complete,  though  he 
travelled  with  six  Indians,  the  factor  staying  behind. 
Drifting  throughout  the  night,  he  could  scarce  believe 
his  eyes  when  the  sharp  air  of  the  cold  morning  awoke 
him.  Ke  had  left  a  land  of  green  trees  and  now  the 
foliage  of  the  elms  that  bordered  the  Mackenzie  were 
as  yellow  as  straw.  The  single  night  of  polar  cold  had 
checked  the  life-giving  sap  with  the  same  startling 
rapidit}'  with  which  it  had  been  caused  to  flow  by  a 
spring  day  of  warm,  invigorating  sunshine. 

Then  the  priest,  with  the  mountains  in  view,  realized 
the  justness  of  the  poetic  Indian  name,  the  Giant  of 
the  Highlands,  given  to  the  "noble  Mackenzie,  with 
its  vast  outflow,  its  great  length,  its  immense  width,  and 
its  majestic  mountainous  banks." 

The  river  could  be  as  terrible  as  it  was  majestic;  and 
then  came  the  first  touch  of  terror  from  the  north,  a 
tornado  storm  known  as  the  "white  wind."     Whirling 

*  M.  Petitot  tells  us  that  the  yearly  outfit  for  the  chief  factor  was,  ia 
pounds,  600  ilour,  800  sugar,  200  each  of  rice,  raisins,  and  salt,  100  tea, 
20  chocolate,  10  black  pepper,  and  liberal  amounts  of  twisted  or  nigger-head 
tobacco. 


The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail  299 


downward  from  a  cloudless  sky,  its  furious  force  lashed 
the  water  into  waves,  tilled  the  air  with  sand  and  gravel, 
and  barely  missed  sinking  the  boats  as  they  were 
rushed  to  the  bank.  There,  standing  in  water  to  their 
waists,  the  voyageurs  held  fast  to  the  ends  of  the  boats 
until  a  brief  lull  made  possible  their  discharging.  For 
a  night  and  a  day  the  storm-bound  travellers  were  thus 
imprisoned  on  a  narrow  ledge  in  wretched  plight — with- 
out fire,  drenched  to  the  skin,  unable  to  sleep,  shivering 
under  the  biting  northerly  gale. 

Near  their  destmation  they  had  to  run  the  fearful 
rapids  of  the  Ramparts,  the  most  dangerous  of  the  many 
swift  currents  of  the  Mackenzie.  Their  skiiFs  flew  with 
frightful  velocity,  plunging  down  descents  that  were 
falls  in  low  stages  of  water  and  being  helplessly  whirled 
around  and  around.  Three  danger  spots  were  passed 
under  conditions  that  made  the  missionary  hold  his 
breath,  while  admiring  the  dexterity  and  composure 
of  the  Indian  steersman.  It  seemed  an  interminable 
eight  miles,  this  series  of  rapids  walled  in  by  the  tow- 
ering, precipitous  Ramparts,  with  only  tv/o  points  of 
refuge  in  its  inhospitable  cliffs  even  for  a  canoe. 

Petitot  soon  made  himself  at  home  at  the  mission 
of  Fort  Good  Hope,  situated  on  the  arctic  circle.  He 
found  the  Hare  Indians  alert,  loquacious,  companion- 
able, warm-hearted,  and  childlike  in  their  sympathies 
and  feelings.  Speaking  of  the  free,  happy  Indian  life 
he  says:  "How  can  such  misery  be  combined  with  such 
contentment  with  their  lot?  How  does  the  sweet  pride 
of  a  free  man  inspire  their  abject  nomadic  life.'     Ask  its 


300  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

secret  from  the  bird  which  flies  warbling  from  shrub  to 
shrub,  waving  its  swift  wings,  drying  its  rain-wet  plu- 
mage in  the  sun,  tranquilly  sleeping  on  a  twig,  its  head 
under  its  wing." 

Learning  the  Hare  language,  baptizing  the  babes  and 
teaching  the  adults,  he  also  put  up  buildings,  cared  for 
the  sick,  and  in  his  garden  raised  potatoes  and  turnips 
under  the  arctic  circle.  But  ever  keeping  ahve  that 
wandering  spirit  which  had  its  influence  in  his  choice 
for  a  missionary  life,  Petitot  was  not  content. 

With  his  work  well  in  hand  he  learned  with  sadness 
from  some  of  his  Indian  flock  of  the  wretched  condi- 
tions under  which  the  Eskimos  of  Liverpool  Bay  were 
living.  Fired  with  his  usual  zeal  for  the  wretched, 
untaught  savages,  and  perchance  impelled  somewhat 
by  a  desire  to  explore  the  country  to  the  north,  Petitot 
decided  to  make  a  midwinter  journey  to  the  polar  sea. 
The  agent,  Gaudet,  pointed  out  the  dangers  of  travel  in 
winter  when  the  cold  was  excessive,  sometimes  ninety 
degrees  or  more  below  freezing,  but  when  the  priest 
insisted  he  accompanied  him  to  Fort  Anderson  (or 
Eskimo)  both  men  following  on  snow-shoes  the  dog- 
team  that  hauled  their  camp  outfit  over  the  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  of  snow-covered  country. 

Fort  Eskimo,  in  68°  30  N.,  on  Anderson  River,  was 
the  most  northerly  of  the  Hudson  Bay  posts,  and  its 
factor,  MacFarlane,  saw  with  surprise  the  arrival  of 
this  young  French  priest  with  the  alert  bearing  and 
splended  confidence  of  his  twenty-five  years.  It  must 
be  a  matter  of  Ufe  or  death  that  brought  him.     What 


The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail  301 

was  his  mission?  The  factor  could  scarcely  trust  his 
ears  when  he  heard  that  the  object  was  a  missionary 
visit  to  Liverpool  Bay. 

MacFarlane  told  him  that  the  country  was  so  wild 
that  Fort  Eskimo  was  palisaded,  flanked  with  bastions, 
and  loop-holed  for  rifle-fire,  owing  to  the  desperate 
character  of  the  surrounding  and  hostile  tribes.  Mean- 
while four  Eskimos  had  come  to  the  fort  from  Liverpool 
Bay,  including  In-no-ra-na-na,  called  Powder  Horn  by 
the  traders.  The  priest  had  hoped  to  meet  this  native, 
whom  the  factor  said  was  known  to  be  the  greatest 
scapegrace  on  the  arctic  coast.  Learning  that  Petitot 
was  unfamiliar  with  the  Inuit  language,  and  was  travel- 
ling unarmed,  his  anxiety  increased  and  he  told  him 
that  a  journey  into  this  unknown  country  with  this  sav- 
age brute  would  prove  fatal.  It  was  pointed  out  in 
vain  that  the  Eskimos  were  bandits  and  outcasts — true 
pirates  who,  glorying  in  theft,  violence,  and  fraud, 
viewed  their  unbridled  passions  as  so  many  human 
virtues  that  showed  the  true  man  (Inuit).* 

The  pen  portrait  of  In-no-ra-na-na,  whom  the  mis- 
sionary had  chosen  as  his  guide,  is  worth  reproduction 
as  a  type  of  Eskimo  dandy  no  longer  seen.  "He  was 
a  handsome  man,  well  made,  of  large  size,  good  pres- 
ence, fine  face,  and  had  a  nearly  white  complexion.  He 
wore  an  elegant  suit  of  reindeer-skin,  its  hair  outside, 
stylishl)^  cut  and  made.  It  can  be  compared  only  to 
the  costume  of  our  ancestors  in  the  time  of  Henry  IV. 
The  close  coat,  old  French  breeches,  and  tightl}'  fitting 

*The  Eskimos  call  themselves  Inuits,  that  is,  the  men  of  the  whole  world. 


302  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

boots  were  of  a  beautiful  brown  skin  of  the  summer  coat 
of  the  deer  bordered  with  a  triple  trimming  of  sea-otter, 
white  wolf,  and  of  the  caribou,  whose  long  reddish  hairs 
surrounded  his  figure  like  a  flaming  aureole.  Similar 
fringes  around  his  arms  and  his  legs  set  them  off  as  by 
so  many  phylacteries.  A  head-dress  hollowed  out  of 
the  scowling  head  of  a  wolf  surrounded  his  naked  and 
closely  shaven  skull,  which  the  Inuit  could,  if  needful, 
partly  cover  with  a  small  hood  made  of  the  head  of  a 
reindeer  on  which  still  remained  the  ears  and  budding 
horns  of  the  animal."  The  usual  labrets  (ornaments 
inserted  through  slits  made  in  the  cheeks)  of  walrus 
ivory  protruded  from  the  great  gashes  in  his  face  and 
hideously  completed  his  dress. 

As  nothing  could  shake  the  priest's  resolution.  Fac- 
tor MacFarlane  decided  to  send  as  a  companion  a 
baptized  Loucheux  Indian,  Sida-Jan,  usually  known 
as  General  Bottom,  who  spoke  a  little  Inuit.  He 
would  save  the  situation  and  maintain  the  missionary's 
dignity  by  acting  as  his  cook,  dog  driver,  and  camp 
servant.  Moreover,  as  the  brutal,  powerful  In-no-ra- 
na-na  was  actually  going  north  the  factor  bribed  him 
by  giving  goods  to  the  amount  of  twenty  beaver-skins* 
to  guard  the  priest  from  insult  or  injury  at  the  hands  of 
his  fellow-savages.  Thus  having  done  his  best  Mac- 
Farlane cried  out,  as  the  whip  cracked  and  the  dogs 
jumped  to  their  traces,  "May  God  protect  your  days 
among  the  bad  people." 

*The  beaver-skin  was  the  standard  coin  of  the  Hudson  Bay  territory, 
its  value  in  our  money  being  fifty  cents. 


The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail  303 

Eskimo  fashion,  tliev  ran  over  the  crisp,  crackHng 
snow  in  single  file,  the  leader  I-you-ma-tou-nak  (the 
itchy)  breaking  the  trail,  followed  by  the  great  chief 
In-no-ra-na-na  (Powder  Horn),  Sida-Jan  (Bottom), 
and  Petitot.  When  asked  why  they  always  thus 
marched  in  single  file  the  Inuits  answered:  "The  best- 
fitted  leads  and  the  others  form  the  tail.  It  is  the 
order  of  the  ducks  and  cranes  who  plough  the  air,  of 
the  reindeer  in  migration,  and  of  the  buffalo  or  musk- 
oxen  changing  their  pasture-grounds." 

The  calm  cold  was  not  felt,  though  the  mercury  was 
frozen,  until  the  leader  stopped  short  on  the  middle  ice 
of  the  frozen  Anderson,  over  which  their  route  lay,  and 
began  to  unload  his  sledge  while  the  others  were  busy 
cutting  through  the  snow  for  water.  Petitot  had  a 
Hudson  Bay  sledge  with  steel-clad,  smooth  bottom, 
while  the  native  sledges  ran  on  two  rough,  solid  side 
runners  of  wood.  These  runners  drag  fearfully  when 
not  shod  with  ice,  which  coating  usually  wears  off  in 
a  few  hours  of  land  travel.  So  throughout  the  day, 
from  time  to  time  the  Eskimo  sledge  was  turned 
upside  down,  and  its  ice  runners  renewed  by  frequent 
wettings  of  the  injured  surfaces,  the  water  freezing  as 
it  was  applied. 

As  they  were  about  camping  the  first  night  they  met 
two  young  Inuits  who  had  a  stone  lamp  and  fresh 
whale  blubber — essentials  for  a  warm  meal — so  the 
two  parties  joined  forces  to  build  a  snow  hut.  Warned 
by  the  factor  not  to  endanger  his  life  or  impair  his 
dignit)'  by  working  with   his   hands,    the   poor  priest 


304  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

nearly  froze  as  the  house  was  reared,  his  undergar- 
ments, damp  with  the  perspiration  of  travel,  chilling  his 
body  bitterly.  He  tells  us  how  deftly  two  of  the  na- 
tives carved  from  the  snow-drifts  on  the  river  wedge- 
shaped  slabs.  The  builder  skilfully  laid  the  blocks  in 
spiral  fashion,  slicing  them  to  fit  and  matching  them 
quite  closely  with  his  snow-knife.  The  master-workman 
sprinkled  with  water  the  rising  walls,  which  when  fin- 
ished formed  a  dome-like  structure  of  dazzling  white- 
ness, though  hermetically  sealed.  Then  with  a  few 
strokes  of  the  snow-knife  a  door-way  was  carved  out 
and  to  the  windward  of  it  was  built  a  circular  snow 
wall.  Meanwhile  an  Eskimo  built  of  snow  inside  the 
hut  the  customary  divan — a  raised  shelf  where  the 
natives  sleep — whereon  were  arranged  the  bear  and 
reindeer  skins  for  bedding.  Close  by  the  door  was 
suspended  the  black  pot-stone  lamp,  and  directly  op- 
posite was  placed  the  proverbial  chamber-pot — always 
present  in  the  Inuit  huts. 

After  being  brushed  for  the  twentieth  time  with  the 
reindeer  wisp,  to  remove  every  particle  of  snow  from 
his  fur  garments,  Petitot  seated  himself  in  a  corner  of 
the  divan,  a  place  of  honor.  When  all  the  Inuits  were 
within  the  hut  they  carefully  drew  up  the  circular 
snow  wall  to  the  very  door-way  and  poured  water  over 
the  crevices.  When  it  froze  the  six  travellers  were  in 
a  hermetically  sealed  snow  house,  there  being  no 
window  or  other  opening  through  which  a  breath  of 
wind  could  come. 

The  missionary's   sufferings  were  intense   that  first 


The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail  305 


night  of  arctic  travel.  Smoky  soot  from  the  dirty 
lamp  and  the  nauseous  effluvia  from  his  unkempt  bed- 
fellows were  bad  enough,  but  the  excessive  heat  and 
impure  air  became  quite  unendurable.  The  outside 
cold  was  about  eighty  degrees  below  freezing,  while 
the  inside  temperature  was  about  eighty  degrees  above, 
so  that  the  inner  snow-blocks  sweat  freely,  the  glob- 
ules of  water  forming  on  the  surface  ready  to  shower 
down  on  them  at  the  slightest  shock. 

The  Inuits  stripped  as  usual  to  the  skin,  but  the 
shame-faced  priest  felt  obliged  to  keep  on  his  clothes, 
removing  his  outer  fur  garments  only.  He  says:  "I 
slept  feverishly  in  cat-naps,  with  constant  nightmare. 
Tormented  by  my  garments,  perspiring  terribly  from 
the  heat,  crowded  between  my  companions  like  a  packed 
herring,  sickened  by  unhealthy  odors,  and  suffocated  by 
unbreathable  air,  what  fearful  agony  I  suffered  that 
night!  [He  adds:]  Save  their  odor  and  their  nudity, 
the  company  of  the  inmates  was  not  disagreeable.  Nor 
did  the  food  prove  less  repulsive,  especially  the  opal- 
ine, greenish-white  whale  blubber,  which,  cut  into  long, 
thin  strips,  forms  a  choice  delicacy  known  to  the  Inuits 
as  ortchok.  The  native  with  his  left  hand  holds  the 
dainty  morsel  above  the  greedily  upturned  open  mouth 
which  it  at  once  fills.  Gripping  the  ortchok  fast  with 
his  teeth,  with  a  knife  in  his  right  hand  he  cuts  it  off 
as  near  the  lips  as  he  can,  swallowing  it  with  a  gurgle 
of  joy." 

When  Petitot  asked  for  cooked  blubber  his  host 
promptly  pulled  out  the  melting  piece  from  the  smok- 


3o6  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

ing,  dirty  lamp,  and  was  surprised  that  such  a  delicacy 
was  refused.  When  later  tasted  the  raw  blubber  was 
found  to  be  insipid,  though  the  fresh  oil  therefrom  was 
not  unlike  olive  oil  in  its  flavor. 

As  a  kind  of  dessert  they  drew  on  their  small  supply 
of  congealed  seal-oil,  so  rancid  as  to  be  offensive.  To 
this  food  neither  time  nor  circumstance  reconciles  the 
white  man. 

The  meal  over  the  natives  took  to  the  soothing  even- 
ing pipe,  and  graduall}'  began  the  talk  of  the  day  and  of 
the  morrow.  Mindful  of  the  precious  store  goods  in  his 
pack  and  of  his  promise  to  the  factor.  Powder  Horn 
chanted  the  glory  of  Fort  Anderson,  and  then  sang  to 
the  young  stranger  Inuits  the  praises  of  the  missionary, 
whom  he  proclaimed  to  be  the  Son  of  the  Sun;  despite 
his  protestations,  transforming  the  priest  into  a  demi- 
god. 

The  long  day's  march  had  seen  the  scattering  groves 
dwindle  and  fail — first  the  bankerian  pine,  followed  in 
order  by  the  balsam  poplar  and  the  aspen.  Now  as 
they  broke  their  morning  camp  the  canoe  birch  was  a 
stunted,  wretched  shrub  scarcely  attaining  the  dignity 
of  a  tree,  and  even  this  was  gone  when  they  made 
their  next  camp  near  the  Anderson  delta,  leaving  here 
and  there  unsightly  and  rare  specimens  of  the  hardy 
larch  and  the  arctic  spruces. 

Next  day  they  parted  company  with  the  young  na- 
tives, who  carried  with  them  the  pot-stone  lamp,  much 
to  the  priest's  annoyance,  as  he  was  nearly  frozen  when 
they  entered  the  igloo  on  the  river  ice.     Powder  Horn 


The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail  307 

under  pressure  showed  his  ingenuity  in  providing  a  sub- 
stitute. Picking  up  a  piece  of  drift-wood,  he  hollowed  it 
out  lamp-shaped,  and  covered  its  bottom  and  sides  with 
pebbles  and  flat  stones.  As  moss  was  lacking  for  the 
wicking,  he  plucked  a  pinch  of  hair  from  his  deerskin 
sleeping-robe,  twisted  it  into  a  mesh,  and  the  lamp  was 
ready.  During  the  night  a  violent  gale  buried  the  igloo 
in  a  snow-drift.  The  river  ice  was  under  such  storm- 
pressures  and  it  oscillated  so  strongly  and  continuously 
to  and  fro  that  they  all  feared  that  the  river  would  open 
and  swallow  them  up.  Throughout  the  whole  night 
the  roaring  of  the  wind,  the  groaning  of  the  ice,  and  the 
quivering  of  the  igloo  made  sleep  impossible. 

As  they  passed  the  river's  mouth  the  third  day  the 
landscape  was  one  of  frightful  sterility.  Snow  became 
thin  and  scanty,  the  ice  was  rougher,  and  the  bare  spots 
of  ground  seemed  to  have  no  signs  of  vegetation,  trees 
and  shrubs  failing  utterl}^.  Nature  was  worse  than 
dead  with  its  apparent  desolation.  Here  both  man 
and  beast  was  doomed  alike  to  a  constant  and  eternal 
struggle  for  bare  existence  in  this  adverse  environment. 

The  lack  of  material  and  the  ingenuity  of  the  Inuits 
in  wresting  a  bare  subsistence  from  this  forlorn  coun- 
try was  indicated  by  a  most  efficient  fox-trap  made 
entirely  of  ice. 

Long  after  dark  the  wearied  sledge  dogs  with  loud 
bowlings  broke  into  a  rapid  run,  and  were  welcomed 
with  fierce  yells  from  the  rival  teams  of  the  Eskimo  vil- 
lage, a  dozen  large  snow  houses  on  the  shores  of  Liver- 
pool Bay.     So  dim  was  the  light  and  so  strange  the 


3o8  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

garments  and  the  attitudes  of  the  native  women,  fur- 
clad  and  crawHng  on  all-fours  from  the  huts,  that  the 
missionary  could  scarcely  distinguish  them  from  the 
dogs. 

Introduced  to  the  people  of  the  village  by  his  Inuit 
protector  as  the  Son  of  the  Sun,  he  was  made  welcome 
after  the  manner  of  the  country.  His  efforts  at  conver- 
sions did  not  bear  visible  fruit,  though  the  natives  lis- 
tened gravely  to  his  sermons  on  kindness  and  goodness, 
on  chastity  and  honesty,  on  wifely  fidelity  and  moth- 
erly love. 

Doubtless  he  was  best  remembered  in  after  days,  as 
he  himself  suggests,  "As  the  man  who  ate  when  a  little 
pocket-sun  [chronometer]  told  him;  who  guided  himself 
on  the  trail  by  a  hve  turning-iron  [compass];  who  made 
fire  by  rubbing  a  bit  of  wood  on  his  sleeve  [matches]; 
and  who  by  looking  hard  at  something  white  [prayer- 
book]  made  it  possible  for  the  Inuit  to  catch  black 
foxes — the  most  valuable  of  all  their  furs.'* 

Father  Petitot  made  his  plans  the  following  summer 
to  renew  his  efforts  to  improve  the  method  of  life  of 
these  wretched  and  remote  natives,  and  to  instil  in 
them  moral  lessons  which  his  later  acquired  knowledge 
of  the  Eskimo  dialect  would  facilitate.  An  epidemic, 
however,  destroyed  many  of  the  Inuits  as  well  as  of  the 
Indian  tribes  in  the  Mackenzie  region,  thus  preventing 
a  renewal  of  the  missionary's  crusade  against  immoral- 
ity and  misery. 

Nevertheless  the  adventurous  midwinter  mission  of 
Father  Petitot,  in  facing  fearlessly  the  danger  of  death. 


The  Missionary's  Arctic  Trail  309 


in  enduring  uncomplainingly  its  physical  tortures,  and 
in  taking  up  a  daily  life,  Inuit  fashion,  under  such  al- 
most revolting  conditions,  displayed  the  heroism  of  the 
true  missionary.  While  Petitot's  self-sacrifice,  in  the 
way  of  physical  comforts  and  of  personal  sufferings,  is 
not  the  most  remarkable  in  the  annals  of  the  church  in 
arctic  history,  yet  it  may  well  serve  as  an  example  for 
the  aspiring  and  altruistic  souls  who  are  willing  to  do 
and  to  dare  for  the  welfare  of  their  fellow-man. 


SCHWATKA'S  SUMMER  SEARCH 


SCHWATKA'S   SUMMER  SEARCH 

**0n  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 
Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

— O'Hara. 

A  MONG  the  startling  and  too-often  believed  stories 
/■^k  of  the  polar  regions  are  many  which  have  their 
origin  as  whalers'  *'yarns."  Spun  for  the  pur- 
pose of  killing  time  and  of  amusing  hearers,  by 
repetition  and  circulation  they  attain  the  dignity  of 
"reHable  personal  accounts,"  Among  such  credited 
"yarns"  in  the  early  seventies  was  one  to  the  effect 
that  the  missing  records  of  the  proceedings  and  dis- 
coveries of  the  lost  squadron  of  Sir  John  Franklin 
were  to  be  found  in  a  cairn  which  was  located  near  and 
easily  accessible  from  Repulse  Bay.  Told  and  retold 
with  an  air  of  truth,  it  became  the  foundation  on  which 
was  based  the  Schwatka-Gilder  search  of  King  William 
Land.  This  expedition  sailed  under  the  favoring  au- 
spices of  the  American  Geographical  Society  of  New 
York  on  the  whaler  Eothen,  from  which  landed  at 
Repulse  Bay  the  party  of  five — Lieutenant  Frederick 
Schwatka,  United  States  Army,  W.  H.  Gilder,  H.  W. 
Klutschak,  F.  E.  Melms,  and  Eskimo  Ebierbing,  known 
as  Joe  (see  p.  196). 

In  establishing  their  winter  camp  near  Chesterfield 


314  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Inlet  they  adopted  as  closely  as  possible  native  methods 
of  life  as  to  food,  clothing,  and  shelter.  In  the  inter- 
vals of  hunting  trips  they  ran  down  the  several  ''yarns  " 
on  which  their  search  had  been  planned,  and  were  dis- 
mayed to  find  that  they  were  entirely  unfounded. 

Schwatka  was  not  the  man  to  turn  back  without 
results,  and  so  he  determined  to  visit  the  regions  in 
which  the  Franklin  party  had  perished,  hoping  that  he 
might  be  able  to  throw  new  light  on  the  disaster.  If  he 
had  been  deceived  as  to  the  Franklin  records  being 
cached  at  a  particular  point,  he  possibly  might  find 
them  elsewhere,  as  records  must  have  been  somewhere 
deposited  for  safety.  It  was  a  daring  venture,  but  there 
might  be  a  possibility  of  more  thoroughly  examining 
King  William  Land  when  snow-free. 

The  more  striking  phases  of  Schwatka's  unique  and 
successful  experience  in  the  search  are  told  here.* 

During  the  winter  there  was  much  visiting  to  and  fro 
with  the  Eskimos  camped  near  them.  They  soon  found 
that  there  was  a  bright  side  to  life  among  the  Inuits, 
and  that  the  natives  indulged  in  games  of  skill  much 
as  we  do.  Gilder  tells  of  the  men  playing  the  game 
of  nu-glew'tary  which  demands  a  quick  eye  and  alert, 
accurate  movements:  "A  small  piece  of  bone  is  sus- 
pended from  the  roof  by  a  line  made  of  walrus  hide, 
and  a  heavy  weight  dangles  below  it  to  keep  it  from 
swinging.  The  bone  is  pierced  with  four  small  holes, 
and  the  players  stand  around,  armed  with  small  sticks 

*  See  map.  on  page  177. 


Schvvatka's  Summer  Search  315 

with  which  they  jab  at  the  bone,  endeavoring  to  pierce 
one  of  the  holes.  Some  one  starts  the  game  by  offering 
a  prize,  which  is  won  by  him  who  pierces  the  bone  and 
holds  it  fast  with  his  stick.  The  winner  in  turn  offers 
a  prize  for  the  others  to  try  for."  It  is  not  a  gambhng 
game,  but  by  prizes  it  encourages  the  acquirement  of 
keen  eyesight  and  accurate  aim,  so  needful  to  success 
in  hunting. 

With  the  opening  of  April,  1879,  Schwatka's  party 
took  the  field,  crossing  the  land  in  as  straight  a  line  as 
they  could  to  Montreal  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  Back 
River.  Twelve  Eskimos — men,  women,  and  children — 
were  added  to  the  party,  and  with  their  forty-two  dogs 
they  hauled  about  two  and  one-half  tons,  of  which  less 
than  one-fourth  consisted  of  provisions  of  a  civilized 
character — bread,  pork,  beef,  coffee,  tea,  etc. — being 
food  for  one  month  only.  Travel  overland  was  very 
difficult  owing  to  the  rocky  region  traversed,  which 
stripped  the  runners  of  their  ice-shoes.  He  says:  "The 
ice  is  put  upon  the  runners  the  first  thing  in  the  morning 
when  coming  out  of  the  igloo,  which  was  built  every 
night.  The  sledge  is  turned  upside  down,  and  the 
water,  after  being  held  in  the  mouth  a  little  while  to 
warm  it,  is  squirted  over  the  runners  and  freezes  al- 
most immediately.  Successive  layers  are  applied  until 
a  clean,  smooth  surface  is  acquired,  upon  which  the 
sledge  slips  over  the  snow  with  comparative  ease." 

Of  the  Ook-joo-liks  they  met  with  Gilder  says:  "In- 
stead of  reindeer  gloves  and  shoes  they  wore  articles 
made  of  musk-ox  skin,  which  had  a  most  extraordinary 


3i6  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

effect.  The  hair  of  the  musk-ox  is  several  inches  long, 
and  it  looked  as  if  the  natives  had  an  old-fashioned 
muflP  on  each  hand.  They  explained  that  it  was  al- 
most impossible  to  get  near  enough  to  kill  reindeer  with 
arrows,  their  only  weapons." 

An  old  Ook-joo-lik  said  that  he  had  seen  a  white  man 
dead  in  a  ship  which  sank  about  five  miles  west  of  Grant 
Point,  Adelaide  Peninsula.  Before  the  ship  sank  the 
Inuits  obtained  spoons,  knives,  etc.,  from  her,  and  the 
story  seemed  true  from  the  number  of  relics  of  the  Ere- 
bus and  Terror  in  their  possession. 

The  explorers  visited  Richardson  Inlet,  where  they 
were  told  that  a  boat  had  been  found  by  the  natives 
with  five  skeletons  under  it.  The  most  important  in- 
formation was  gained  from  a  Netchillik  woman  who 
said  that  on  the  southeast  coast  of  King  William  Land 
"she  with  her  husband,  and  two  other  men  with  their 
wives,  had  many  years  ago  seen  ten  men  dragging  a 
sledge  with  a  boat  on  it.  Five  whites  put  up  a  tent  on 
shore  and  five  remained  with  the  boat.  The  Inuits 
and  the  whites  stayed  together  five  days,  the  former 
killing  several  seals  and  giving  them  to  the  white  men." 
The  whites  attempted  to  cross  to  the  main-land,  and 
the  Eskimos  remained  all  summer  on  King  Wilham 
Land  and  never  saw  the  whites  again.  She  also  said 
that  "the  following  spring  she  saw  a  tent  standing 
at  the  head  of  Terror  Bay.  There  were  dead  bodies  in 
the  tent  and  outside — nothing  but  bones  and  clothing. 
Near  by  were  knives,  spoons,  forks,  books,  etc." 

While  elated  at  his  success  in  learning  from  the  Ook- 


Schwatka's  Summer  Search  317 

joo-liks  these  incidents,  which  added  much  to  the  re- 
ports of  Rae  and  McClintock  as  to  the  fate  of  Crozier 
and  his  comrades,  Schwatka  was  not  content.  With 
a  courage  bordering  on  rashness  he  decided  to  cross 
Simpson  Strait  to  King  WiUiam  Land  and  thoroughly 
search  for  records  while  the  ground  was  free  from  snow. 
This  meant  passing  the  summer  on  this  desolate  island, 
for  he  could  not  hope  to  recross  the  strait,  save  by 
chance,  until  the  autumnal  colds  should  form  new  ice. 

He  had  just  learned  that  the  island  was  so  barren  of 
game  in  1848  that  one  hundred  and  five  men  had  there 
perished  of  starvation.  Some  of  the  natives  told  him 
that  the  same  fate  awaited  the  white  men  of  to-day. 
Yet  such  was  the  dominating  power  of  this  fearless 
soldier  that  not  only  did  his  white  comrades  go  forward 
zealously  but  several  Eskimos  followed,  including  his 
hunter,  Too-loo-ah,  of  whom  it  was  said:  "There  is  a 
legend  in  his  tribe  that  he  was  never  known  to  be  tired." 

Among  the  hunting  feats  of  the  natives  was  the  spring 
duck-hunting,  when  the  birds  are  moulting  and  unable 
to  fly.  Fitted  with  his  spear  the  Eskimo  carries  his 
kayak  to  the  remote  lake  where  the  birds  feed.  Cau- 
tiously advancing  until  the  flock  is  alarmed,  he  makes 
a  furious  dash  toward  the  largest  bunch.  When  within 
some  twenty  feet  of  the  struggling  birds  he  seizes  his 
queer-looking  spear,  with  its  three  barbs  of  unequal 
length,  and  with  an  expertness  gained  from  long  prac- 
tice hurls  it  at  a  bird,  which  is  nearly  always  killed, 
impaled  by  the  sharp  central  barb.  The  wooden  shaft 
of  the  spear  floats  the  game  until  the  hunter  reaches  it. 


3i8  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Scarcely  had  the  party  marched  a  single  day  on  the 
ice-pack  of  Simpson  Strait  when  some  would  have 
turned  back,  the  crossing  being  doubtful.  Gilder  re- 
cords: "We  would  sink  to  our  waists  and  our  legs 
would  be  dangling  in  slush  without  finding  bottom. 
The  sledge  often  sank  so  that  the  dogs,  floundering  in 
the  slush  or  scrambling  over  the  broken  ice,  could  not 
pull.  Then  we  gathered  around  to  help  them,  getting 
an  occasional  footing  by  kneeling  on  a  hummock  or 
holding  on  with  one  hand  while  we  pushed  with  the 
other.  Yet  through  the  skill  and  experience  of  our 
Inuit  dog  driver  we  made  a  march  of  ten  miles."  In 
this  journey  even  the  athlete,  Too-loo-ah,  was  so  ex- 
hausted that  the  party  had  to  rest  the  following  day. 

Schwatka  with  Gilder  and  his  other  white  companions 
then  made  a  most  exhaustive  search  of  the  island,  the 
Eskimos  aiding  in  the  intervals  of  the  hunt  or  while 
going  to  and  fro.  The  search  revealed  four  despoiled 
graves,  three  skeletons,  Crozier's  original  camp  and 
his  daily  bivouacs  during  his  fatal  southward  march, 
the  Erebus  Bay  boat,  and  the  record  deposited  by 
McClintock  in  1859.  Especially  interesting  was  the 
grave  of  Lieutenant  John  Irving,  one  of  Franklin's 
officers.  Evidently  the  body  had  been  wrapped  in  his 
uniform  and  then  encased  in  canvas  as  if  for  burial  at 
sea.  A  personal  medal  of  Irving's  and  other  articles 
identified  the  remains.  Unfortunately  none  of  the 
Franklin  records  or  traces  thereof  were  anywhere  found. 

It  is  not  to  be  thought  that  these  marches  and  dis- 
coveries were  made  otherwise  than  with  great  suffer- 


Schwatka's  Summer  Search  319 

ing,  with  danger  even  of  starvation.  More  than  once 
they  were  entirely  without  food,  and  as  a  rule  they  lived 
from  hand   to  mouth. 

Gilder  relates  this  semi-humorous  experience:  "While 
Klutschak  was  cooking  the  last  of  our  meat  he  left  the 
fire  a  few  minutes.  The  dogs  breaking  from  their  fast- 
enings poured  down  on  the  culinary  department  like 
an  army  of  devouring  fiends.  Too-loo-ah,  knowing  the 
state  of  our  larder,  slipped  out  under  the  end  of  the 
tent,  stark  naked  from  his  sleeping-bag,  and  by  a 
shower  of  stones  sent  the  dogs  away  howling." 

Their  greatest  discomfort  arose  from  the  lack  of 
shoes  and  stockings,  their  outer  foot-gear  being  soon 
worn-out  beyond  repair,  while  hard  travel  had  rubbed 
all  the  hair  from  their  stockings.  Under  these  condi- 
tions walking  was  often  physical  torture,  which  fre- 
quent moccasin  patching  only  sHghtly  relieved.  Fi- 
nally they  had  to  send  to  the  base  camp  at  the  south 
end  of  the  island,  where  the  two  native  women  were, 
to  obtain  foot-gear  for  their  return  journey  from  Cape 
Felix,  the  northernmost  point  of  King  William  Land. 

While  sledging  along  this  point  Too-loo-ah  discovered 
a  bear  on  the  ice  of  Victoria  Strait  far  to  the  north. 
Dumping  his  load  he  urged  his  dogs  forward,  plying 
the  whip  until  the  team  sighted  the  as  yet  unconscious 
bear.  With  wolf-like  ferocity  and  swiftness  the  excited 
dogs  rushed  madly  forward,  the  empty  sledge  swing- 
ing from  side  to  side  on  the  rough  ice-floes  or  splashing 
through  the  pools  or  tide  cracks  that  lay  in  the  road. 
When  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the  bear  he  saw  his  coming 


320  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

enemies,  and  with  his  lumbering,  rocking  gait  rushes  off 
at  a  speed  that  astonishes  a  novice  who  notes  his  awk- 
ward motions.  Ook-joo-hk  leaning  forward  cuts  the 
traces  with  his  sharp  hunting-knife,  freeing  in  a  bunch 
the  yelping  dogs  who  run  swiftly  after  the  fleeing  animal. 
Soon  the  dogs  are  at  bruin's  heels,  snapping  and  biting 
him  so  that  he  is  obHged  to  halt  and  defend  himself. 
A  battle  royal  now  occurs,  the  defiant,  growling  bear, 
rushing  and  striking  fiercely  at  his  enemies.  The  old 
and  experienced  dogs  attack  him  either  in  the  rear  or  by 
side  rushes  when  his  attention  is  given  to  another  quar- 
ter, and  when  he  turns  they  elude  the  clumsy  brute  with 
great  dexterity.  Now  and  then  an  untrained  youngster 
attacks  directly,  only  to  receive  a  blow  from  the  power- 
ful paws  that  either  kills  or  maims  him. 

Soon  Too-loo-ah  came  up  almost  breathless  from  his 
haste,  and  waited  for  a  chance  to  get  a  shot  without 
killing  a  dog.  Gilder  tells  us  of  the  unusual  experi- 
ence of  the  native  at  this  time:  "The  bear  disregarding 
the  dogs  made  a  rush  for  the  active  young  hunter  that 
almost  brought  his  heart  into  his  mouth.  Recovering 
his  composure  in  good  season,  he  sent  three  bullets  from 
his  Winchester  rifle,  backed  by  a  charge  of  sevent3^-five 
grains  of  powder  behind  each,  right  into  the  animal's 
skull,  and  the  huge  beast  lay  dead  almost  at  his  feet.'* 

At  times  their  hunger,  when  meat  was  lacking,  was 
appeased  by  a  small  black  berry  called  by  the  natives 
parazvofigy  which  was  not  only  pleasing  from  its  wel- 
come spicy  and  pungent  tartness,  but  was  really  life- 
supporting  for  a  while  at  least. 


Schwatka's  Summer  Search  321 


While  making  thorough  search  of  every  ravine  or 
hill-top  for  records  or  for  relics,  "The  walking  devel- 
oped new  tortures  every  day.  We  were  either  wading 
through  the  hill-side  torrents  or  lakes,  which,  frozen 
on  the  bottom,  made  the  footing  exceedingly  treacher- 
ous, or  else  with  seal-skin  boots,  soft  by  constant  wet- 
ting, painfully  plodding  over  sharp  stones  set  firmly  in 
the  ground  with  the  edges  pointed  up.  Sometimes  as 
a  new  method  of  injury,  stepping  and  slipping  on  flat 
stones,  the  unwary  foot  slid  into  a  crevice  that  seem- 
ingly wrenched  it  from  the  body." 

Under  stress  of  hunger  and  in  due  time  they  came 
to  eat  the  same  food  as  their  native  hunters.  We  are 
told  that  **In  the  season  the  reindeer  are  exceedingly 
fat,  the  tallow  (called  by  the  Inuits  tudnoo)  lying  in 
great  flakes  from  half  an  inch  to  two  and  a  half  inches 
thick  along  the  back  and  over  the  rump.  This  tallow 
has  a  most  delicious  flavor  and  is  eaten  with  the  meat, 
either  cooked  or  raw.  The  intestines  are  also  encased 
in  a  lace-work  of  tallow  which  constitutes  a  palatable 
dish.  Indeed,  there  is  no  part  of  any  animal  used  for 
food  but  what  is  eaten  by  the  Eskimos  and  which  we  also 
have  partaken  of  with  great  relish.  A  dish  made  of  the 
contents  of  the  paunch,  mixed  with  seal-oil,  looks  like 
ice-cream  and  is  the  Eskimos'  substitute  for  that  con- 
fection." It  has  none  of  the  flavor,  however,  of  ice- 
cream, but,  as  Lieutenant  Schwatka  says,  may  be  more 
likened  to  locust,  sawdust  and  zvild-honey. 

After  the  breaking  up  of  the  winter  floes  in  the  strait 
the  hunters  gave  much  time  to  the  pursuit  of  the  rein- 


322  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

deer  and  killed  many.  Too-loo-ah  gave  a  new  instance 
of  his  courage  and  of  his  resourcefulness  as  a  hunter. 
Going  to  the  beach  to  find  some  drift-wood  for  fuel 
he  left  his  gun  in  camp.  Near  the  coast  he  came 
upon  a  she  bear  with  her  half  grown  cub.  Knowing 
that  the  game  would  escape  if  he  went  back  for  his  rifle, 
"he  drove  the  old  bear  into  the  sea  with  stones  and 
killed  the  cub  with  a  handless  snow-knife."  His  great 
pleasure  was  in  the  slaughter  of  reindeer,  of  which  great 
herds  appeared  during  the  late  summer,  while  Schwatka 
was  awaiting  the  coming  of  cold  and  the  formation  of 
ice  on  Simpson  Strait  for  the  crossing  of  his  heavy- 
sledges.  Too-loo-ah  indulged  as  a  pastime  in  seal-hunt- 
ing in  these  days  of  prosperity.  When  he  got  a  seal 
one  of  his  first  operations  was  "to  make  a  slit  in  the 
stomach  of  the  still  breathing  animal,  and  cutting  off 
some  of  the  warm  liver  with  a  slice  or  two  of  blubber, 
the  hunter  regaled  himself  with  a  hearty  luncheon.'* 
Now  and  then  the  keen  scent  of  a  dog  or  his  own  hunt- 
er's instinct  discovered  a  seal  igloo  on  the  floe.  This  is 
a  house  built  for  their  young  near  the  air-holes  where 
the  mothers  come  for  breathing  spells.  Gilder  says: 
"Here  the  baby  seals  are  born  and  live  until  old  enough 
to  venture  into  the  water.  When  a  hunter  finds  an 
occupied  igloo  he  immediately  breaks  in  the  roof  in 
search  of  the  little  one,  which  remains  very  quiet  even 
when  the  hunter  pokes  his  head  through  the  broken 
roof.  The  young  seal  is  easily  killed  with  the  spear,  and 
the  hunter  waits  for  the  mother  who  is  never  absent  a 
long  time  from  her  baby.     The  young  seal  is  usually 


Schwatka's  Summer  Search  323 

cut  open  as  soon  as  killed  and  its  little  stomach  ex- 
amined for  milk,  which  is  esteemed  a  great  luxury  by 
the  Eskimos." 

Gilder  gives  an  account  of  their  camp  life  while  wait- 
ing on  events.  "We  ate  quantities  of  reindeer  tallow 
with  our  meat,  probabl}-  about  half  of  our  daily  food. 
Breakfast  is  eaten  raw  and  frozen,  but  we  generally 
have  a  warm  meal  in  the  evening.  Fuel  is  hard  to 
obtain  and  now  consists  of  a  vine-like  moss  called  ik- 
shoot-ik.  Reindeer  tallow  is  used  for  a  light.  A  small, 
flat  stone  serves  for  a  candlestick,  on  w^hich  a  lump  of 
tallow  is  placed  close  to  a  piece  of  fibrous  moss  called 
mun-ney  which  is  used  for  a  wick.  The  melting  tallow 
runs  down  upon  the  stone  and  is  immediately  absorbed 
by  the  moss.  This  makes  a  cheerful  and  pleasant  light, 
but  is  most  exasperating  to  a  hungry  man  as  it  smells 
exactly  like  frying  meat.  Eating  such  quantities  of 
tallow  is  a  great  benefit  in  this  climate,  and  we  can 
easily  see  the  effects  of  it  in  the  comfort  with  which  we 
meet  the  cold." 

It  was  most  interesting  to  see  the  southward  migra- 
tion of  the  reindeer,  which  began  as  soon  as  the  ice  on 
Simpson  Strait  would  bear  them.  They  went  in  herds, 
and  by  the  middle  of  October  the  country  was  practi- 
cally bare  of  them. 

Of  their  own  trip  southward  Gilder  writes:  "The 
most  unpleasant  feature  of  winter  travelling  is  the  wait- 
ing for  an  igloo  to  be  built,  which  is  done  at  the  end  of 
every  day's  march.  To  those  at  work  even  this  time 
can  be  made  to  pass  pleasantl}',  and  there  is  plenty  that 


324  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

even  the  white  men  can  do  at  such  time.  Another  task 
that  the  white  men  can  interest  themselves  in  is  the  un- 
loading of  the  sled  and  beating  the  ice  and  snow  out  of 
the  fur  bedclothing.  The  Eskimos  do  not  use  sleeping- 
bags  for  themselves,  but  instead  have  a  blanket  which 
they  spread  over  them,  while  under  them  are  several 
skins,  not  only  to  keep  the  body  away  from  the  snow, 
but  also  to  prevent  the  body  from  thawing  the  snow- 
couch  and  thus  making  a  hole  that  would  soon  wet  the 
skins.  On  the  march  the  bed-skins  are  usually  spread 
over  the  top  of  the  loaded  sledge,  the  fur  side  up,  because 
it  is  easy  enough  to  beat  the  snow  from  the  fur,  while 
it  might  thaw  and  make  the  skin  side  wet.  Continued 
pounding  will  remove  every  vestige  of  ice  without  dis- 
turbing the  fur,  if  the  weather  is  sufficiently  cold." 

Of  the  dogs  he  says:  "Twice  the  dogs  had  an  interval 
oT  eight  days  between  meals  and  were  in  condition  for 
hard  work.  That  they  could  Hve  and  do  any  work  at 
all  seemed  marvellous.  I  am  constrained  to  believe 
that  the  Eskimo  dog  will  do  more  work,  and  with  less 
food,  than  any  other  draught  animal  existing." 

Of  the  travel  he  adds:  **The  weather  is  intensely 
cold,  ninety-seven  degrees  below  freezing,  with  scarcely 
any  wind.  It  did  not  seem  so  cold  as  when  the  wind 
was  blowing  in  our  face  at  fifty  degrees  below  freez- 
ing. We  were  so  well  fortified  against  the  cold  by 
the  quantities  of  fat  we  had  eaten  that  we  did  not 
mmd  It. 

Conditions  of  travel  were  very  bad  in  December, 
when  they  had  to  lie  over  for  hunting,  game  being  so 


Schwatka's  Summer  Search  325 

scarce.  But  January,  1880,  was  their  month  of  trial, 
the  temperature  sinking  to  one  hundred  and  four  de- 
grees below  the  freezing-point  on  one  occasion,  while 
they  were  harassed  by  a  violent  blizzard  of  thirteen 
days'  duration.  Wolves  later  attacked  their  team, 
killing  four  dogs  in  their  very  camp.  Indeed,  Too-Ioo- 
ah  had  a  most  narrow  escape  when  surrounded  by  a 
pack  of  twenty  wolves.  "He  jumped  upon  a  big  rock, 
which  was  soon  surrounded,  and  there  fought  the  sav- 
age beasts  off  with  the  butt  of  his  gun  until  he  got  a 
sure  shot,  when  he  killed  one.  While  the  others  fought 
over  and  devoured  the  carcass  of  their  mate  he  made 
the  best  of  his  opportunity  to  get  back  into  camp." 

Through  famine,  cold,  and  wolf  raids  the  teams  be- 
gan to  fail.  **It  was  almost  our  daily  experience  now 
to  lose  one  or  more  dogs  [in  fact,  they  lost  tvventy-sevep 
on  this  trip].  A  seal-skin  full  of  blubber  would  have 
saved  many  of  our  dogs;  but  we  had  none  to  spare  for 
them,  as  we  were  reduced  to  the  point  when  we  had  to 
save  it  exclusively  for  lighting  the  igloos  at  night.  We 
could  not  use  it  to  warm  our  igloos  or  to  cook  with. 
Our  meat  had  to  be  eaten  cold — that  is,  frozen  so  solid 
that  it  had  to  be  sawed  and  then  broken  into  conven- 
ient-sized lumps,  which  when  first  put  into  the  mouth 
were  like  stones.  Sometimes,  however,  the  snow  was 
beaten  off  the  moss  on  the  hill-sides  and  enough  was 
gathered  to  cook  a  meal." 

In  the  last  stages  of  famine  the  party  was  saved  by 
the  killing  of  a  walrus.  Of  conditions  existing  at  this 
time  Gilder  records:    "All  felt  the  danger  that  again 


326  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


threatened  them,  as  it  had  done  twice  before  when  they 
had  to  kill  and  eat  some  of  their  starving  dogs.  People 
spoke  to  each  other  in  whispers,  and  everything  was 
quiet  save  for  the  never-ceasing  and  piteous  cries  of 
the  hungry  children  begging  for  the  food  that  their 
parents  could  not  give  them. " 

In  this  laudable  effort  to  find  the  Franklin  records 
Schwatka  and  his  comrades  passed  through  experiences 
unsurpassed  in  arctic  life  by  white  men,  and  that  with- 
out loss  of  life  or  with  other  disaster.  They  adopted 
Eskimo  methods  of  dress,  travel,  shelter,  and  life  in 
general.  As  an  expedition  it  surpassed  in  distance  of 
travel  and  in  length  of  absence  from  civilized  life,  or 
of  external  support,  any  other  known.  It  was  absent 
from  its  base  of  supplies  for  a  year  (lacking  ten  days), 
and  travelled  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles. 

The  success  of  Schwatka  is  important  as  showing 
what  can  be  done  by  men  active  in  body,  alert  in  mind, 
and  firm  in  will.  He  acted  on  the  beUef  that  men  of 
force,  well  armed  and  intelligently  outfitted,  could 
safely  venture  into  regions  where  have  lived  for  many 
generations  the  Eskimos,  who  hold  fast  to  the  country 
and  to  the  method  of  life  of  their  ancestors. 

The  most  striking  phases  of  the  journeys  of  Schwatka 
and  his  white  comrades  evidence  heroic  qualities  of 
mind  and  unusual  powers  of  endurance  which  achieved 
sledging  feats  that  have  excited  the  admiration  of  all 
arctic  experts.  Such  success,  however,  could  have 
been    obtained    only    by    men    of   exceptional  energy, 


Schwatka's  Summer  Search  327 

practically  familiar  with  field  work,  and  gifted  with 
such  resourceful  minds  as  at  times  can  dominate  ad- 
verse conditions  that  would  involve  less  heroic  men  in 
dire  disaster. 

The  Franklin  Search  by  Schwatka,  Gilder  and  Klut- 
schak  was  quixotic  in  its  initiation,  ill-fitted  m  its 
equipment,  and  rash  in  its  prosecution.  It  was  re- 
deemed from  failure  through  the  heroic  spirit  of  the 
party,  which  gained  the  applause  of  the  civilized  world 
for  its  material  contributions  to  a  problem  that  was 
considered  as  definitely  abandoned  and  as  absolutely 
insoluble.  Such  an  example  of  accomplishment  under 
most  adverse  conditions  is  worth  much  to  aspiring 
minds  and  resolute  characters. 


THE  INUIT  SURVIVORS  OF  THE 
STONE  AGE 


THE  INUIT  SURVIVORS  OF  THE  STONE  AGE 

"Ye  whose  hearts  are  fresh  and  simple. 
Who  have  faith  in  God  and  Nature, 
Who  believe,  that  in  all  ages 
Every  human  heart  is  human, 
That  in  even  savage  bosoms 
There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings 
For  the  good  they  comprehend  not, 
That  the  feeble  hands  and  helpless, 
Groping  blindly  in  the  darkness, 
Touch  God's  hand  in  that  darkness; — 
And  are  lifted  up  and  strengthened." 

— Longfellow. 

IT  is  now  well  known  that  the  first  country  of  the 
western  hemisphere  to  be  visited  by  Europeans  was 
Greenland — nearly  a  thousand  years  ago.  The 
European  settlement,  the  Christianization,  and  the 
abandonment  of  southern  Greenland,  covering  a  period 
of  three  centuries,  has  lately  received  interesting  and 
exhaustive  treatment  by  a  famous  arctic  expert  who 
has  brought  together  all  existing  data.  Foreign  to 
these  investigations  are  the  facts  associated  with  the 
discovery  during  the  past  hundred  years  of  three  Inuit 
tribes  of  Greenland  previously  unknown  to  the  world. 
It  seems  astonishing  that  nine  hundred  years  of  Green- 
land's history  and  of  its  exploration  should  have  passed 
without  revealing  the  existence  of  the  Eskimos  of  Etah, 
of  Omevik,  and  of  Angmagsalik.  This  narrative  dwells 
more  particularly  on  the  finding  of  the  tribe  of  Ang- 

331 


332  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

magsalik,  on  the  coast  of  East  Greenland,  by  Captain 
G.  Holm,  Royal  Danish  Navy,  through  whose  heroic 
efforts  and  wise  recommendations  the  tribe  is  now 
under  the  protecting  influences  of  the  government  of 
Denmark  and  has  become  a  Christian,  well-cared-for 
people.* 

In  1818  Captain  John  Ross,  R.N.,  in  an  attempt  to 
discover  the  northwest  passage,  though  verifying  the 
discredited  discoveries  of  Baffin  in  1616,  failed  in  his 
special  effort.  However,  he  added  a  new  people  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  world  through  meeting  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cape  York,  Baffin  Bay,  eight  of  the  Inuits, 
now  known  as  the  Etah  or  Cape  York  Eskimos,  whom 
he  fancifully  designated  as  the  Arctic  Highlanders. 
Elisha  Kent  Kane  was  the  first  to  have  familiar  rela- 
tions with  and  give  detailed  information  about  these 
isolated  natives,  the  tribe  in  1854  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  forty  persons.  In  later  years  the  Etahs 
have  been  frequently  visited  by  explorers,  whalers,  and 
hunters.  As  the  most  northerly  inhabitants  of  the 
world  at  the  present  time,  they  naturally  have  engaged 
the  earnest  attention  of  all  who  have  met  these  hardy, 
kindly,  and  resourceful  people.  Kane's  fear  of  their 
extinction  was  groundless,  as  against  the  number  of 
one  hundred  and  forty,  given  by  him,  Peary's  census 
figures  of  1897  show  two  hundred  and  thirty-four,  an 
increase  of  ninety-four  in  forty  years.  Rasmussen  re- 
lates that  within    the   memory  of  man,  but  evidently 

*  See  map  on  page  235. 


The  Inuit  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age      333 


since  Kane's  time,  fourteen  Eskimos  from  the  region  of 
Baffin  Land  have  joined  the  Etah  natives.  It  is  rea- 
sonable to  believe  that  the  origin  of  the  Cape  York 
Eskimo  was  through  similar  migrations  probably  two 
or  three  centuries  earlier. 

Prior  to  the  nineteenth  century  practically  the  only 
known  Eskimo  people  of  Greenland  consisted  of  those 
under  Danish  protection,  who  occupied  the  entire  ice- 
free  west  coast  from  Cape  Farewell  60°  N.  to  Tasiusak, 
73°  24'  N.  Traditions  of  the  existence  of  tribes  of 
natives  on  the  east  coast  have  long  prevailed,  but  up 
to  the  nineteenth  century  there  were  known  only  a  few 
individuals,  quite  near  Farewell,  which  were  visited  by 
Wall(j)  in  1752. 

Still  among  the  Inuits  of  extreme  southern  Green- 
land were  numerous  and  curious  traditions  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  east  coast,  one  to  the  effect  that  far  to 
the  northward  were  some  light-haired  people  of  Euro- 
pean complexion.  Another  tale  oft  told  in  winter  gath- 
erings was  one,  doubtless  in  ridicule,  of  the  occasional 
Inuit  who,  holding  fast  to  a  barren  land,  came  west  only 
to  trade  and  never  to  live.  It  is  a  beautiful  legend 
showing  true  and  abiding  love  of  home  and  country. 
Dr.  Rink  thus  translates  it:  "A  man  from  the  east 
coast  of  Greenland  from  love  of  his  home  never  left  it 
even  during  the  summer-time.  Among  his  principal 
enjoyments  was  that  of  gazing  at  the  sun  rising  out  of 
the  ocean.  But  when  his  son  grew  up  he  became  de- 
sirous of  seeing  other  countries  and  above  all  of  accom- 
panying his  countrymen  to  the  west  coast.     At  length 


334  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

he  persuaded  his  father  to  go  with  him.  No  sooner, 
however,  had  they  passed  Cape  Farewell  and  the  fa- 
ther saw  the  sun  about  to  rise  behind  the  land  than 
he  insisted  upon  returning  immediately.  Having  again 
reached  their  island  home,  he  went  out  from  his  tent 
early  next  morning,  and  when  his  people  had  in  vain 
waited  for  his  return  they  went  out  and  found  him 
dead.  His  delight  at  again  seeing  the  sun  rise  out  of 
the  ocean  had  overpowered  and  killed  him." 

The  first  definite  knowledge  of  the  Eastern  Inuits 
came  by  accident,  through  the  boat  voyage  of  Captain 
W.  A.  Graah,  who  under  the  directions  of  the  King  of 
Denmark  was  searching  for  the  ruins  of  the  East  Bygd 
— the  colony  of  Scandmavians  of  the  twelfth  to  the 
fifteenth  century.  During  this  search,  which  extended 
to  within  sight  of  Cape  Dan,  Graah  found  no  less 
than  five  hundred  and  thirty-six  Inuits  living  at  about 
twenty  different  places.  Of  these  more  than  one-half 
had  never  seen  a  white  man. 

Graah  says  of  them:  "The  affection  the  Eastlanders 
have  for  their  children  is  excessive.  .  .  .  Notwithstand- 
ing  the  little  care  bestowed  on  them,  the  children  con- 
duct themselves  so  as  to  seldom  merit  reproof.  .  .  . 
The  East  Greenlanders  look  on  begging,  especially  for 
food,  as  a  disgrace.  ...  As  soon  as  a  boy  can  creep 
about  alone  his  father  gives  him  a  little  javelin,  which 
he  is  taught  to  throw  at  a  mark.  He  thus  speedily  ac- 
quires that  dexterity  in  the  management  of  his  weapon 
on  which  in  after  years  he  is  to  principally  depend  for 
his  own  and  his  family's  subsistence.     When  he  grows 


H 
D 


X 


The  Inult  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age      335 

older  he  is  provided  with  a  kayak,  and  learns  to  battle 
with  the  waves,  to  catch  birds,  and  to  strike  the  seal. 
When  the  youth  comes  home  for  the  first  time  with  a 
seal  in  tow  the  day  is  made  a  holiday  and  the  friends 
and  neighbors  invited  to  a  feast,  at  which,  while  he  re- 
counts all  the  circumstances  of  the  chase,  the  maidens 
present  lay  their  heads  together  to  choose  a  bride  for 
him. 

"Their  intercourse  with  each  other  is  marked  with 
singular  urbanity;  they  are  modest,  friendly,  obliging, 
and  forbearing. 

"When  the  howling  of  the  dogs  proclaim  the  arrival 
of  strangers  the  people  hurry  to  the  shore  to  welcome 
them  and  to  invite  them  to  their  houses.  The  wet 
clothes  of  the  visitors  are  taken  from  them  and  hung  up 
to  dr}'.  Dry  ones  are  lent  in  their  stead,  and  if  a  hole 
is  discovered  in  their  boots  the  landlady  sets  to  work 
straightway  to  patch  it. 

"They  are  a  gentle,  civil,  well-behaved  set  of  people 
among  whom  one's  life  and  property  are  perfectly  secure 
as  long  as  one  treats  them  with  civility  and  does  them 
no  wrong.  Their  veracity  and  fidelity  are  beyond  im- 
peachment. 

"The  northern  lights  they  take  to  be  the  spirits  of 
the  dead  playing  ball  with  the  head  of  a  walrus." 

The  principal  encampments  were  between  Kemisak 
and  Omevik,  beyond  which  place  to  the  north,  said  the 
natives  of  Kemisak,  there  were  no  inhabitants.  The 
Eskimos  numbered  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  and 
were  called  the  Omivekkians. 


336  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Of  their  environment  in  favorable  places  and  their 
amusements  Graah  reported:  "The  cove  had  fields  of 
considerable  extent,  covered  with  dwarf  willows,  juni- 
per berry,  black  crakeberry,  and  whortleberry  heath, 
with  many  patches  of  fine  grass.  The  stream,  abound- 
ing in  char,  had  its  source  in  the  glaciers  of  which  sev- 
eral gigantic  arms  reached  down  from  the  height  in  the 
background.  Flowers  everywhere  adorned  the  fields. 
Three  hundred  paces  from  the  sea  the  cliffs  rise  almost 
perpendicularly,  with  snow-clad  summits,  far  beyond 
the  average  height.  The  natives  had  here  assembled 
to  feast  upon  the  char,  plentiful  and  of  large  size,  the 
black  crakeberry,  and  angelica,  gathering  them  also 
for  winter  use.  They  give  themselves  up  to  mirth  and 
merrymaking.  This  evening,  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred  or  more,  they  began  by  torch-light  their  tam- 
bourine dance,  a  favorite  festival. " 

Graah  believed  that  there  were  no  natives  living  to 
the  north  of  Cape  Dan,  and  that,  when  the  greater  part 
of  the  Eskimos  seen  by  him  moved  to  West  Greenland, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  the  whole  coast  was  de- 
serted. This  belief  was  seemingly,  though  erroneously, 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that,  while  Clavering  saw  a  few 
natives  in  74°  N.,  Scoresby,  Koldewey,  Ryder,  Na- 
thorst,  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  in  their  explorations, 
saw  no  living  native  on  the  east  coast. 

It  remained  for  the  expeditions  of  Hall,  Nares, 
Greely,  Amdrup,  Holm,  and  Mylius-Erichsen  to  prove 
by  their  united  observations  that  there  was  not  only 
an  Inuit  settlement  on  the  east  coast,  but  that  such 


The  Inuit  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age      337 

natives  are  the  descendants  of  the  true  Children  of  the 
Ice,  who  have  crossed  Grinnell  Land,  skirted  northern 
Greenland,  and  thus  come  eventually  to  their  present 
habitat.  Their  fathers  were  formerly  inhabitants  of 
the  most  northerly  lands  of  the  globe,  of  the  lands  of 
Grant,  Grinnell,  Greenland,  and  Hazen  (or  Peary). 

Brief  and  transient  may  have  been  their  occupation 
of  many  of  the  various  encampments  during  their  devi- 
ous wanderings  in  the  long  migration,  covering  nearly 
two  thousand  miles  of  travel.  Their  summer  tent- 
rings  and  stone  winter  huts  dot  the  favoring  shores  of 
every  game-producing  fiord  from  Cape  Farewell,  in 
60°  N.,  northward  to  Bronlund  Fiord,  Hazen  (Peary) 
Land,  82°  08'  N.,  on  the  nearest  known  land  to  the 
north  pole. 

They  travelled  leisurely,  seeking  fruitful  hunting 
grounds  and  living  on  the  game  of  the  land  or  of  the 
adjacent  sea.  They  thus  netted  the  salmon  of  the  gla- 
cial lakes,  searched  the  valleys  for  deer,  snared  the 
ptarmigan,  lanced  the  lumbering  musk-ox,  speared  the 
sea-fowl,  caught  the  seal,  slaughtered  the  walrus,  and 
they  are  beHeved  to  have  even  pursued  in  kayaks  and 
lanced  the  narwhal  and  the  white  whale. 

While  Mylius-Erichsen  and  his  heroic  comrades  ob- 
tained the  definite  information  as  to  the  extreme  north- 
ern limit  of  Inuit  habitation  of  all  time,  and  paid  the 
price  of  such  data  with  their  lives,  it  was  with  equal 
bravery  but  happier  fortune  that  Captain  G.  Holm 
rescued  from  oblivion,  and  thus  indirectly  raised  to  hap- 
pier life,  the  struggling  descendants  of  the  iron  men  and 


338  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

women  whose  unfailing  courage  and  fertile  resource- 
fulness had  wrested  food  and  shelter  from  the  most 
desolate  and  the  most  northerly  land  environment  of 
the  world. 

Once,  in  i860,  there  came  to  the  Cape  Farewell  trad- 
ing station  an  Inuit  who  had  lost  his  toes  and  finger- 
tips. Though  just  able  to  grasp  a  paddle  with  his 
stumpy  fingers,  he  was  an  expert  kayaker  and  threw  his 
javelin  with  the  left  hand.  He  said  that  he  v/as  from 
a  place  called  Angmagsalik,  and  that  between  eight 
hundred  and  a  thousand  natives  dwelt  in  that  vicinity. 
For  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  this  report  of  the  ex- 
istence of  an  unknown  tribe  of  Inuits  remained  unveri- 
fied. In  1883,  however,  the  exploration  of  this  part  of 
East  Greenland  was  made  by  a  Danish  officer  of  ex- 
tended and  successful  experience  in  the  governmental 
surveys  of  southern  Greenland,  who  fully  recognized  the 
hazardous  and  prolonged  nature  of  such  an  expedition. 
The  Inuits  said  that  many  lives  had  been  lost  in  at- 
tempting the  shore-ice  of  the  east  coast,  and  that  a 
round  trip  to  and  from  Angmagsalik — "Far,  oh!  so  far 
to  the  north!" — took  from  three  to  four  years. 

Thoroughly  familiar  with  the  native  methods  of 
life  and  of  travel,  this  officer,  Captain  G.  F.  Holm, 
Royal  Danish  Navy,  adopted  the  safest,  indeed,  the 
only,  method  of  coast  transportation — in  the  umiak. 

The  umiak  (called  the  woman's  boat,  as  it  is  always 
rowed  by  women)  is  a  flat-bottomed,  wooden-framed, 
skin-covered  boat  about  twenty-five  feet  long  and  five 
feet  wide.     Only  the  framework,  thwarts,  and  rowing 


1  he  Inuit  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age      339 

benches  are  wooden,  the  covering  being  well-dried, 
blubber-saturated,  hair-free  skins  of  the  atarsoak 
(Greenland  seal).  Resembling  in  appearance  the  parch- 
ment of  a  drum-head,  the  seal-skin  becomes  quite 
transparent  when  wet  so  that  the  motion  of  the  water 
is  seen  through  it.  Sometimes  a  light  mast  carries  a 
spread  seal-skin  for  sail,  but  as  a  rule  the  boat  is  pro- 
pelled by  short,  bone-tipped  paddles  which,  in  the 
hands  of  several  strong  women,  carry  the  umiak  thirty 
miles  a  day  through  smooth,  ice-free  water.  When 
going  near  the  ice  a  heavy  seal-skin  is  hung  before  the 
bow  to  prevent  the  delicate  boat  skin  from  being  cut. 
When  a  little  hole  is  worn  through,  the  women  deftly 
thrust  a  bit  of  blubber  through  it  until  the  boat  is 
hauled  up  on  the  shore,  which  must  be  done  daily 
to  dry  the  sea-saturated  covering.  These  boats  can 
transport  from  three  to  four  tons  of  cargo,  and  are  so 
light  that  they  can  be  readily  carried  on  the  women's 
backs  overland. 

Holm  knew  that  his  journey  must  entail  at  least  one 
winter  among  such  natives  as  he  might  meet,  so  that 
his  equipment  was  very  carefully  selected,  with  a 
view  to  the  gifts  and  trading  which  are  so  dear  to 
the  native  heart.  The  northward  journey  was  full  of 
incident  and  of  interest.  Not  crowding  his  women 
rowers,  Holm  tarried  here  and  there  for  the  hunt;  be- 
sides, he  wished  both  to  gather  information  from  an 
occasional  encampment  and  also  to  cultivate  loyalty 
in  his  reluctant  crew  by  permitting  his  women  to  show 
their  west-coast  riches  to  the  east-coast  heathen. 


340  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Here  seal  were  killed  and  there  the  polar  bear  was 
chased,  while  the  sea-fowl,  the  narwhal,  and  the  white 
whale  were  the  objects  of  pursuit  to  the  eager  native 
hunters,  who  accompanied  the  umiaks  in  their  hght, 
swift-flying  kayaks. 

In  voyaging  there  was  the  usual  danger  from  sharp 
ice  cutting  the  umiaks  and  necessitating  repairs,  and 
from  lofty  bergs  and  ancient  hummocks  as  they  crossed 
the  ocean  mouths  of  the  ice-filled  fiords,  and  alas!  too 
often  there  were  tedious,  nerve-racking  delays  when 
on  desolate  islands  or  rocky  beaches  the  umiak  fleet  was 
ice-bound  for  days  at  a  time. 

Wintering  near  Cape  Farewell,  Holm,  with  Garde 
and  Knutsen,  put  to  sea  May  5,  1884,  his  umiaks  being 
rowed  by  nineteen  women  and  five  men,  while  seven 
hunters  followed  in  kayaks.  Garde  devoted  himself 
to  the  precipitous,  ice-capped  coast,  and  between  60° 
and  63°  N.  found  nearly  two  hundred  living  glaciers 
that  entered  the  sea,  seventy  being  a  mile  or  more 
broad.  In  Lindenows  Fiord,  62°  15'  N.,  were  found 
almost  impenetrable  willow  groves  near  old  Scandina- 
vian ruins.  Fine  new  ice-fiords  were  discovered  which 
put  forth  innumerable  numbers  of  icebergs,  the  highest 
rising  two  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  western  Eskimos  were  alarmed  either  at  the  ice 
diflficulties  which  lengthened  the  voyage,  or  feared  the 
angekoksy  or  magicians  of  the  east  coast,  and  nineteen 
of  them  insisted  on  turning  back.  Holm  was  obliged 
to  send  them  back  under  Garde,  but  with  determined 
courage  to  fulfil  his  duty  as  an  officer  of  the  Danish 


The  Inult  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age      341 

navy,  he  went  on  with  twelve  faithful  women  and  men, 
although  he  was  not  half-way  to  Cape  Dan. 

As  before  told,  Graah  turned  back  in  sight  of  Cape 
Dan,  believing  that  he  had  reached  the  limit  of  human 
habitations.  Great  then  was  Holm's  surprise  to  here 
find  the  last  of  the  three  missing  polar  tribes,  who  to 
the  number  of  five  hundred  and  forty-eight  individuals 
were  occupying  the  fertile  hunting-grounds  of  the  archi- 
pelago of  Angmagsalik,  which  consists  of  about  twenty 
ice-free  islands  to  the  west  of  Cape  Dan,  about  65°  31 
N.,  adjacent  to  the  beautiful  Sermihk  ice-fiord.  In 
this  district  the  tides  and  currents  keep  open  the  in- 
land water-ways,  so  that  seals  are  plentiful  and  easily 
taken,  thus  making  it  an  Inuit  paradise.  Holm  and 
Knutsen  here  wintered,  1884-5,  and  in  their  ten 
months'  residence  with  these  people  gathered  a  vast 
amount  of  ethnographic  and  historic  material  pertain- 
ing to  the  lives  of  these  extraordinary  Inuits,  who  had 
never  before  seen  a  white  man.* 

This  missing  polar  tribe  pertains  to  the  stone  age 
of  the  world,  its  weapons  being  almost  entirely  of  bone, 
while  its  methods  of  hunting  follow  Hnes  long  since 
abandoned  by  Inuits  who  have  had  contact  with  whites. 
Their  high  sense  of  fidelity  was  shown  by  Navfahk, 
who  was  placed  in  charge  of  stores  left  for  the  winter  at 
Kasingortok.     That   winter   his   family   suffered  from 

•  The  data  relative  to  this  expedition  is  not  available  in  English,  but 
has  been  published  in  full  in  vol.  IX,  "  Meddelelser  om  Gronland  (Com- 
munications on  Greenland),"  in  Danish  text.  With  its  generous  policy  tke 
Danish  Government  has  taken  these  natives  under  its  fatherly  protection,  so 
that  their  future  welfare  is  assmred  against  exploitation,  degradation,  and 
early  extinction. 


34-  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

lack  of  food,  but  all  through  these  days  of  terrible  dis- 
tress and  prolonged  hunger  the  stores  of  the  white  man 
were  untouched  by  this  faithful  Eskimo. 

Of  these  natives  Rasmussen  says :  "There  is  no  people 
with  a  history  which,  as  regards  the  bitterness  of  its 
struggle  for  existence  and  the  eeriness  of  its  memo- 
ries, can  be  compared  with  that  of  the  Eskimo.  .  ,  . 
His  mind  can  be  calm  and  sunny  like  the  water  on  a 
summer  day  in  the  deep,  warm  fiords.  But  it  can 
likewise  be  savage  and  remorseless  as  the  sea  itself,  the 
sea  that  is  eating  its  way  into  his  country," 

Of  their  endurance  of  cold  Poulsen  records:  "Inside 
the  house  both  grown-up  people  and  children  wear,  so 
to  speak,  nothing,  and  it  does  not  inconvenience  them 
to  walk  out  into  the  cold  in  the  same  light  dress, 
only  increased  by  a  pair  of  skin  boots.  I  remember 
seeing  two  quite  young  girls  walking  almost  naked  on 
the  beach,  fifteen  minutes'  walk  from  the  house, 
gathering  sea-weed,  though  the  temperature  was  about 
twenty-four  degrees  below  the  freezing-point." 

As  a  dumb  witness  of  their  method  of  life  in  their 
permanent  homes  may  be  mentioned  the  house  at 
Nualik,  more  than  a  hundred  miles  to  the  north  of 
Angmagsahk  (discovered  by  Amdrup),  where  an  entire 
settlement  of  twenty  or  more  perished,  probably  of 
ptomaine  poisoning  from  semi-putrid  meat  (a  dehcacy 
among  the  Eskimos  as  is  semi-putrid  game  with  us). 

"On  the  platform  along  the  back  wall,  as  shown 
by  the  skeletons,  the  inhabitants  had  once  lain  com- 
fortably  between   the   two   bear-skins,   the   upper  one 


The  Inuit  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age      343 


with  the  hair  down.  On  the  five  lamp-platforms  stood 
the  lamps  and  the  stone  pots.  The  drying-hatches 
above  them  had  fallen  down,  but  remains  of  bear- 
skin clothes  still  la}^  on  them.  Under  the  platform 
there  were  chip-boxes  and  square  wooden*  cases,  and 
on  the  stone-paved  floor  large  urine  and  water  tubs. 
In  front  of  one  of  the  small  side  platforms  there  was 
a  blubber-board  and  a  large,  well-carved  meat-trough, 
and  scattered  about  the  floor  lay  wooden  dishes,  blood- 
scoops,  water-scoops,  besides  specimens  of  all  the  bone 
utensils  which  belong  to  an  Eskimo  house. 

"Near  the  house  stood  four  long,  heavy  stones, 
placed  edgewise,  on  the  top  of  which  the  uviiak  rested 
(protected  thus  from  the  dogs).  Scattered  around 
were  kayak  frames  and  their  bone  mountings,  hunting 
and  other  implements.  Amongst  the  big  heap  of  bones 
outside  the  house  were  the  skulls  of  narwhals,  dogs,  and 
bears.  Among  the  utensils  was  a  blood-stopper  orna- 
mented with  a  neatly  cut  man's  head,  which,  recognized 
b)''  old  Inuits  at  Angmagsalik,  identified  this  party  as  a 
northerly  migrating  band  from  the  main  settlement." 

Of  the  after  life  a  glimpse  is  given  by  the  talk  of  an 
east-coast  Inuit  to  Rasmussen:  "On  a  lovely  evening 
a  broad  belt  of  northern  lights  shot  out  over  the  hills 
in  the  background  and  cast  a  flickering  light  over  the 
booming  sea.  Puarajik  said:  '  Those  are  the  dead  play- 
ing hall.  See  how  they  fly  about  I  They  say  that  they 
run  about  up  there  without  clothing  on.'  " 

*  The  wood  was  obtained  from  the  drift-wood  along  the  east  coast,  sup- 
posed to  come  from  Asia,  along  the  line  of  drift  shown  by  the  voyage  of  the 
fram. 


344  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Of  the  seamy  side  of  life  he  adds :  "  But  in  the  winter, 
when  people  were  gathered  together,  the  larders  were 
full,  and  desires  centred  on  the  shortening  of  the  long, 
idle  winter  nights,  things  would  be  quite  different  [from 
the  happy,  industrious  life  of  summer].  Much  food 
and  sitting  still,  the  desire  to  be  doing,  the  craving  for 
change  made  people  pick  quarrels.  Old  grievances 
were  resuscitated;  scorn  and  mocking,  venomous  words 
egged  on  to  outbursts  of  anger;  and  in  winter  feasts 
regrettable  incidents  occurred.  Men  and  women,  ex- 
cited and  goaded  on  by  others,  forgot  all  friendly  feel- 
ing, and  on  most  extraordinary  pretexts  often  chal- 
lenged each  other  to  insult-songs,  fought  duels,  and 
committed  most  appalHng  murders." 

It  is  evident  that  among  the  people  of  the  stone 
age  there  exists  the  same  inclination  to  exploit  and 
perpetuate  deeds  of  individual  and  warlike  prowess, 
that  appears  not  only  in  modern  history  as  a  whole 
but  also  in  news  of  current  publication. 

Acts  of  kindness,  deeds  of  heroism,  and  displays  of 
the  fair  and  humble  virtues  that  sweeten  daily  life 
are  entirely  absent  from  the  old  Inuit  traditions.  Yet 
these  "True  Tales"  depict  the  honesty  of  Navfahk,  the 
humanity  of  Kalutunah,  the  fidelity  of  Bronlund,  and 
the  devotion  of  Mertuk. 

The  total  omission  of  similar  tales  of  admirable 
and  humane  conduct  from  the  legends  and  the  folk- 
songs of  the  Inuits  of  the  stone  age  doubtless  depends 
in  part  on  the  savage  superstitions,  wherein  magical 
powers  and  forces  of  evil  are  greatly  exalted,  and  in 


The  Inuit  Survivors  of  the  Stone  Age      345 

part  on  the  disposition  to  dwell  on  the  unusual  and 
the  terrifying. 

So  there  are  reasons  to  believe  that  the  survivors  of 
the  stone  age  in  East  Greenland  exhibit  in  their  daily 
life  human  qualities  of  goodness  and  of  justice  that 
were  characteristic  of  their  rude  and  virile  ancestors. 

Such,  though  inadequately  described,  are  the  newly 
found  Inuits  of  the  Angmagsalik  district  of  East  Green- 
land, the  sole  surviving  remnant  of  the  untutored 
aborigines  of  the  north  polar  lands.  Their  human 
evolution  is  of  intense  interest,  as  it  has  been  worked 
out  under  adverse  conditions  of  appalling  desolation 
as  regards  their  food  and  their  travel,  their  dress  and 
their  shelter,  their  child-rearing  and  their  social  rela- 
tions. 

That  the  world  knows  the  last  of  the  missing  polar 
tribes,  and  that  this  remote,  primitive  people  is  now 
being  uplifted  in  the  scale  of  humanity,  must  be  cred- 
ited to  the  resolute  courage,  the  professional  zeal,  and, 
above  all,  to  the  sympathetic  human  qualities  of  Cap- 
tain Holm  and  his  faithful  officers  and  assistants. 


THE   FIDELITY  OF  ESKIMO  BRONLUND 


THE  FIDELITY  OF  ESKIMO  BRONLUND 

"And  truly  he  who  here 
Hath  run  his  bright  career. 
And  served  men  nobly,  and  acceptance  found, 
And  borne  to  Hght  and  right  his  witness  high, 
What  better  could  he  wish  than  then  to  die?" 

— Arnold. 

THE  Myllus-Erichsen  arctic  expedition  of  1905 
sailed  for  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  in  the 
ship  Danmarky  commanded  by  Captain  Trolle, 
Danish  Royal  Navy.  Its  purpose  was  to  continue  the 
remarkable  surveys  of  the  Danish  government  by  com- 
pleting the  coast-line  of  northeast  Greenland.  From 
its  winter  quarters  at  Cape  Bismarck,  76°  14  N., 
autumnal  sledge  parties  established  advance  depots  of 
suppHes  in  order  to  facilitate  the  travel  of  its  survey- 
ing party  the  following  spring. 

The  field  work  was  under  charge  of  Mylius-Erichsen 
personally,  a  Danish  explorer  of  abiUty  and  experi- 
ence, already  distinguished  for  successful  work  in 
northwestern  Greenland.  It  was  planned  that  near 
the  eighty-second  parallel  of  north  latitude  the  main 
party  should  be  divided,  so  as  to  complete  the  work 
that  season.  Lieutenant  Koch  was  to  outline  the  south- 
eastern shore-lines  of  the  land  to  the  north  of  Green- 
land, while  Mylius-Erichsen  was  to  carry  his  surveys 
inland  until  they  joined  those  of  Peary,  thus  filling  in 

340 


350  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

the  totally  unknown  regions  of  extreme  northeastern 
Greenland. 

This  plan  was  carried  out  in  the  spring  of  1906,  the 
two  parties  separating  at  Northeast  Cape,  whence 
Koch  struck  courageously  north  on  May  i,  with  food 
for  fourteen  days  only.  Game  fortunately  came  to 
him  and  he  was  enabled  to  advance  his  country's 
colors  to  an  unprecedentedly  northern  latitude  for 
Denmark,  83.5"  N.,  and  by  his  explorations  to  com- 
plete the  survey  of  the  most  northerly  land  of  the  globe 
— originally  named  Hazen  Land,  which  is  now  known 
as  Peary  Land.  The  brilliant  discoveries,  tragic  expe- 
riences, and  heroic  struggles  of  Mylius-Erichsen  and 
his  topographer  Hagen,  and  the  fidelity  unto  death 
of  his  Eskimo  dog  driver,  Jorgen  Bronlund,  are  briefly 
outlined  in  this  narrative. 

After  the  long  winter  of  sunless  days  and  bitter  cold, 
it  was  with  high  hopes  and  cheery  hearts  that  the  long 
line  of  dog-drawn  sledges  followed  Mylius-Erichsen  as 
they  wended  their  way  northward  at  the  end  of  March, 
1907.  With  ten  sledges  and  nearly  a  hundred  dogs 
much  was  to  be  done  by  the  resolute  men  who  feared 
neither  cold  nor  famine,  the  dangers  of  the  sea-ice, 
or  the  hardships  of  the  trail. 

Their  courage  and  strength  were  soon  tested  by 
difficulties  and  perils  of  unexpected  character,  for  they 
thought  to  find  the  ordinary  ice-foot  along  the  shore, 
which  could  be  followed  inward  or  outward  as  the 
character  of  the  ice  dictated.     But  there  was  no  ice- 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Broniund         351 

foot.     Along  Glacier  Gulf  for  the  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  miles  the  glacial  ice-cap  of  Greenland, 


'ip  Denmark. 


Amdrup  and  Hazcu  Lands,  Greenland. 


known  usually  as  the  inland  ice,  moves  summer  and 
winter — with    unbroken    vertical    front,    hundreds    of 


:>:)■ 


True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


feet  in  height — slowly  but  unceasingly  into  the  Green- 
land Sea.  Between  the  steady  southward  drift  of  the 
vast  ice-fields  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  seaward 
march  of  the  glacier  the  shore  ice  was  found  to  be  of 
almost  incredible  roughness.  Magnificent,  and  une- 
qualled elsewhere  in  the  world,  was  the  sight  of  this 
towering  sea-face,  but  scores  upon  scores  of  miles  of 
ever-dominating  ice-cliffs  through  their  weeks  of  strug- 
gle grew  to  be  unwelcome,  so  that  their  end  at  Lam- 
bert Land  was  hailed  with  joy. 

Here  came  unexpected  food,  which  did  much  to 
make  the  completion  of  the  survey  possible.  As 
they  were  crossing  the  smooth  fiord  ice,  Bronlund's 
keen  and  practised  eye  saw  far  shoreward  tiny  specks 
of  moving  animals,  and  he  shouted  loudly  ^' Nanetok  I" 
(A  bear!).  They  proved  to  be  two  mother  bears  with 
cubs.  In  a  trice  the  teams  were  stopped,  the  trace- 
toggles  slipped  from  the  few  dogs  that  were  used  to 
bear-hunting,  who  started  excitedly  on  the  jump  for 
the  already  fleeing  game.  Soon  catching  up  with  the 
lumbering  animals,  slow-moving  on  account  of  the 
cubs,  the  dogs,  followed  their  usual  tactics  of  nipping 
sharply  the  hind  legs  of  the  bear,  who  stops  to  drive 
off  the  dog  or  stumbles  forward  with  the  dog  fast  at 
his  legs.  Meantime  Bronlund  and  Tobias,  the  two 
Eskimo  dog  drivers,  quickly  threw  off  the  sledge  loads 
on  the  floe  and  drove  on  with  such  speed  that  the 
hunters  were  soon  within  shot.  The  bears  skinned  and 
the  dogs  fed,  the  northward  march  was  renewed  in  high 
spirits,  for  the  slow  travel  had  sadly  reduced  their  food. 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund         353 

They  were  nearly  in  despair  on  reaching  the  south 
shore  of  Mount  Mallemuk,  as  the  open  sea  made  it 
impossible  to  pass  around  it.  With  exhausting  labor 
they  finally  were  able  to  clamber  up  a  projecting  point 
of  the  seaward-flowing  glacier,  but  their  first  support- 
ing sledge  here  turned  homeward. 

Difficult  as  had  been  the  ice  and  the  glacier-scaling, 
they  came  to  a  real  danger  when  around  Mallemuk 
they  were  driven  far  out  on  the  ocean  in  order  to  pro- 
ceed northward,  for  the  inland  ice  was  impossible  of 
passage  and  great  areas  of  open  water  gave  way  slowly 
seaward  to  new  ice.  This  was  so  thin  that  it  bent 
and  crackled  as  sledge  after  sledge  tried  in  separate 
and  fearsome  order  a  passage  that  threatened  to  en- 
gulf them  at  any  moment.  Yet  they  came  safely  to 
Amdrup  Land,  80°  43'  N.,  whence  the  last  supporting 
party  returned,  charged  to  explore  on  their  homeward 
journey  the  unknown  fiords  to  the  north  of  Lambert 
Land,  where  their  spring  discoveries  of  new  lands  had 
begun. 

Pressing  on  after  the  return  of  the  supporting  sledges, 
Mylius-Erichsen  was  surprised  and  disappointed  to 
find  that  the  coast  continued  to  trend  to  the  north- 
east, and  not  to  the  northwest,  as  indicated  by  all 
charts  since  Peary  crossed  the  inland  ice  to  Navy  Cliff. 
This  northeasterly  trend  greatly  increased  the  length 
of  the  journey  needful  to  complete  the  survey  of  the 
entire  east  coast.  Their  equipment  had  been  planned 
for  the  shorter  distance,  and  it  was  evident  that  this 
forced  detour  would  soon  leave  them  without  food  for 


354  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

themselves  or  for  their  dogs  unless  more  game  should 
be  found. 

They  thought  that  this  extension  would  never  end, 
but  it  was  finally  reached  at  Cape  Northeast,  82°  30'  N., 
12°  W.,  no  less  than  22°  of  longitude  to  the  eastward 
of  Peary's  location  of  the  Greenland  Sea  in  his  dis- 
coveries of  1892  and  1895.  The  new  cape  was  half- 
way between  Navy  Cliff  and  Spitzbergen,  thus  nar- 
rowing by  one-half  the  largest  connecting  waterway 
of  the  Arctic  and  the  Atlantic  Oceans.  It  was  a  mag- 
nificent discovery,  for  which  some  of  these  explorers 
were  to  pay  with  their  lives. 

Myhus-Erichsen  and  Koch  counselled  seriously  to- 
gether, and  well  they  might.  They  had  been  on  the 
march  more  than  a  month;  commg  summer,  with  a  dis- 
integrating ice-pack,  and  the  dreaded  Mallemuk  moun- 
tain precipices,  sea-washed  at  their  base,  were  to  be 
faced  on  their  homeward  journey;  and  to  crown  all 
they  had  provisions  for  only  fourteen  days. 

Imbued  with  the  high  Danish  spirit,  they  duly 
weighed,  with  national  calmness,  the  pros  and  the  cons, 
only  asking  each  other  how  and  what,  with  their  piti- 
ful means,  they  could  further  do  for  the  glory  of  Den- 
mark. The  heroic  loyalty  of  both  men  found  full  ex- 
pression in  the  decision  that  it  was  their  bounden 
duty  to  go  forward,  and  to  finish  the  survey  with  which 
they  were  charged,  regardless  of  possible  dangers  and 
personal  privations.  So  Koch  marched  northward, 
while  Mylius-Erichsen  turned  westward  toward  Navy 
Cliff,  nearly   two   hundred   miles  distant.     The  west- 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund         355 

ward  explorations  had  been  made  much  more  impor- 
tant by  the  unexpected  easterly  extension  of  Green- 
land, which  kft  a  great  gap  in  its  northern  shore-line 
that  must  at  all  hazards  be  surveyed.  Starting  with 
Topographer  Hagen  and  the  Greenlander  dog  driver, 
Bronlund,  Erichsen  reached  a  great  inland  fiord  (Den- 
mark), which  he  naturally  took  for  the  one  charted  by 
Peary  as  bordering  the  Greenland  Sea.  Though  this 
detour  carried  him  a  hundred  miles  out  of  the  direct 
route  to  Cape  Riksdag,  it  was  not  wholly  without  re- 
sults. Twenty-one  musk-oxen  were  killed,  which  re- 
stored the  strength  of  the  dogs,  whose  gaunt  frames 
already  alarmed  the  party. 

Here  with  astonishment  they  saw  signs  not  alone 
of  the  beasts  of  the  earth  and  the  birds  of  the  air, 
but  everywhere  were  indications  of  their  master — 
man  himself.  As  they  skirted  such  scanty  bits  of 
land  as  the  inland  ice  had  spared,  they  found  along 
every  bay  or  inlet  proofs  of  former  human  life.  There 
were  huts  and  household  utensils, — left  as  though 
suddenly, — circles  of  summer  tents,  fragments  of  ka- 
yaks and  sledges,  stone  meat-caches,  fox-traps,  and 
implements  of  land  hunt  and  sea  chase,  in  which  both 
reindeer  and  whales  were  in  question.  They  were 
mighty  hunters,  these  children  of  the  ice,  men  of  iron 
who  inhabited  the  most  northern  lands  of  the  earth, 
and  had  there  lived  where  these  white  voyagers  of 
heroic  mould  were  destined  to  perish. 

The  signs  of  human  life  continued  beyond  Denmark 
Fiord  to  the  very  shores  of  Hagen  Fiord,  thus  clearly 


35^  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

establishing  the  route  of  migration  over  which  the 
Eskimo  of  Arctic  America  or  of  the  Bering  Strait  re- 
gion had  reached  the  east  coast,  and  possibly  West 
Greenland,  coming  from  the  north.* 

The  turning-point  of  Erichsen's  fortunes  came  at 
Cape  Riksdag,  where  he  met  Koch's  party  returning 
from  the  north.  His  discoveries  and  surveys  of  south- 
eastern Hazen  Land  (Peary),  where  he  reached  83° 
30'  N.,  and  his  tales  of  game,  encouraged  Mylius- 
Erichsen  to  go  on,  though  he  had  food  for  eight  days 
only  for  the  men,  eleven  for  the  dogs,  and  a  few  quarts 
of  oil  for  cooking. 

Another  fiord  (Hagen)  was  discovered,  which  proved 
fatal  to  the  party,  as  Mylius-Erichsen  felt  that  Navy 
Cliff,  reported  as  overlooking  the  Greenland  Sea,  must 
surely  be  therein.  He  turned  north  on  learning  his 
error,  only  to  eat  his  last  food  on  June  4.  He  felt 
obliged  to  cover  his  mistake  by  going  still  to  the  west 
to  Cape  Glacier  (Navy  Cliff)  yet  9°  of  longitude  inland. 
Peary  had  there  escaped  starvation  by  large  game, 
and  Erichsen  went  forward  knowing  that  without 
game  death  awaited  him.  Now  and  then  they  shot  a 
polar  hare,  a  bare  mouthful  for  three  starving  men  and 
t  .venty-three  ravenous  dogs.  June  14,  1907,  Mylius- 
Erichsen    connected    his    surveys    with    Navy    Cliff.f 

*  The  discoveries  of  Lieutenant  (now  General)  Greely  around  Lake  Hazen, 
of  Lockwood  and  Brainard  in  northwest  Greenland  and  Hazen  Land,  prove 
that  the  route  followed  was  via  Greely  Fiord,  past  Lake  Hazen,  across  Kennedy 
Channel,  over  Hall  Land,  probably  through  the  upper  valley  of  Nordenskiold 
Inlet,  and  along  the  shores  of  Peary  Channel  to  Denmark  Fiord. 

t  According  to  the  lately  published  report  of  the  gallant  Danish  explorer, 
Mikkelsen,  the  recovered  records  of  Mylius-Erichsen  show  that  the  insu- 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund         357 


He  had  a  right  to  a  feehng  of  pride  and  of  exultation, 
for  his  magnificent  series  of  discoveries,  covering  5° 
of  latitude  and  22°  of  longitude,  completed  the  survey 
of  northeastern  Greenland.  Thus  had  these  advent- 
urous men  given  tangible  form  to  the  hopes  and  as- 
pirations that  for  so  many  years  had  stirred  the  im- 
agination of  Danish  explorers.  These  discoveries  had 
involved  outward  sledge  journeys  of  more  than  seven 
hundred  miles,  although  the  party  was  only  outfitted 
for  a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  miles. 

Lieutenant  Trolle  tells  us  how  startlingly  sudden 
was  the  change  from  winter  to  summer  at  the  Dan- 
mark,  Cape  Bismarck.  **The  temperature  of  the  snow 
had  risen  to  zero  (32°  Fahrenheit),  and  then  in  one 
day  it  all  melted.  The  rivers  were  rushing  along, 
flowers  budding  forth,  and  butterflies  fluttering  in  the 
air.  One  day  only  the  ptarmigan  and  raven,  the  next 
the  sanderling,  the  ringed  plover,  geese,  ducks,  and 
others." 

Mylius-Erichsen  and  his  comrade  had  a  similar  ex- 
perience just  as  they  turned  homeward.  Almost  in  a 
day  the  snow-covering  of  the  sea-floe  vanished,  as  if 
by  miracle.  Here  and  there  water-holes  appeared — 
the  dreadful  fact  was  clear,  the  ice-floes  were  breaking 
up.  Forced  now  to  the  coast-land,  it  was  plain  that 
return  to  their  ship  was  no  longer  possible.  They 
must  summer  in  a  barren,  ice-capped  land,  and  wait, 
if  they  could   live  so  long,   until   the  frosts   of  early 

larity  of  Greenland  was  not  discovered  by  Peary  at  Navy  CHlT.  Peary 
Channel  is  only  a  fiord  indenting  northeastern  Greenland,  which  extends 
northward  as  shown  in  the  attached  map  of  Amdrup  Land. 


358  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

autumn   should   re-form   the  great  white  highway  of 
arctic  travel. 

Mylius-Erichsen  hoped  that  the  outlying  valleys  of 
his  newly  discovered  Denmark  Fiord  would  afford 
enough  game  to  enable  them  to  live,  at  least  long  enough 
to  permit  them  to  reach  some  one  of  their  depots  where 
they  could  deposit  the  records  of  their  surveys.  They 
reached  the  fiord  about  the  end  of  July,  but  alas!  the 
big  game  of  the  past  spring  was  gone!  Now  and  then 
they  killed  a  stray  musk-ox  and,  like  famishing  creat- 
ures, men  and  dogs  ate  for  once  their  fill.  Again  and 
again  food  failed  utterly,  but  when  death  came  too 
near  they  killed,  with  sad  hearts,  one  of  their  faithful 
dogs,  until  nine  of  them  had  been  eaten. 

In  the  recovered  field-journal  of  Bronlund,  under 
date  of  August  7,  we  read:  "No  more  food!  It  is  im- 
possible to  travel  and  we  are  more  than  nine  hundred 
kilometres  [five  hundred  and  sixty  miles]  from  the 
ship."  On  the  8th  Erichsen  started  for  the  southern 
end  of  the  fiord,  thinking  that  in  its  ice-free  valleys 
the  chances  of  game  would  be  increased.  As  it  was 
necessary  to  travel  on  the  ice-floes  they  started  across 
the  ice,  changing  from  one  floe  to  another  when  forced 
to  do  so.  Unfortunately  they  were  driven  offshore 
and  found  themselves  adrift.  Day  after  day,  kept  sea- 
ward by  wind  and  tide,  they  strove  in  vain  to  reach 
shore,  but  it  was  sixteen  days  before  this  was  accom- 
plished. When  they  landed  on  August  24,  Bronlund 
writes:  "We  still  have  fourteen  dogs,  but  no  food. 
We  have  killed  one  of  these  animals  and  eaten  half  of 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund         359 

him;  the  other  half  will  serve  as  our  food  to-morrow. 
The  half  of  a  dog  for  three  men  and  thirteen  dogs  is 
not  too  much  to  digest,  and  after  eating  it  we  are  as 
hungry  as  before." 

When  land  was  reached  Erichsen  and  Hagen  applied 
themselves  to  hunting.  Hare  after  hare  and  ptarmi- 
gan after  ptarmigan  were  pursued  and  killed.  But 
alas!  the  valleys  were  searched  in  vain  for  musk-oxen 
or  reindeer,  and  it  was  feared  that  the  big  game  of  the 
region  was  exterminated. 

Throughout  these  awful  days  of  suspense  and  of 
hunger  neither  Mylius-Erichsen  nor  Hagen  failed  to 
maintain  their  courage  and  cheerfulness.  In  the  inter- 
vals of  needed  rest  between  the  long,  exhausting  hunt- 
ing tramps,  they  kept  on  the  even  tenor  of  their  way. 
Erichsen  wrote  a  little  poem  to  distract  the  attention 
of  his  companions  from  their  present  surroundings. 
Faithful  to  the  last  to  his  favorite  vocation,  Hagen  made 
with  care  and  pride  beautiful  sketches  of  the  country 
traversed  and  of  the  lands  newly  discovered.  Thus 
passed  away  the  brief  polar  summer,  but  further  de- 
tails are  lacking  since  Bronlund's  journal  has  no  entries 
from  August  31  to  October  19. 

Meanwhile,  Koch  had  made  safely  his  homeward 
journey,  and,  although  the  anxiety  of  the  officers  at  the 
ship  was  somewhat  lessened  by  the  news  that  game 
had  been  found  in  the  far  north,  yet  they  were  neverthe- 
less uneasy  as  to  the  dangers  of  Erichsen's  home  travel. 
Koch,  it  seems,  had  found  an  open  and  impassable  sea 
at  Mount  Mallemuk,  so  that  he  was  driven  to  the  in- 


360  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

land  ice.  He  there  found  himself  obliged  to  cross  a  very 
narrow  glacier,  where  its  seaward  slant  was  so  nearly 
perpendicular  that  a  single  sHp  would  have  precipitated 
men  and  dogs  into  the  open  sea,  hundreds  of  feet  below. 
Later  it  was  decided  to  send  a  search  party  north, 
under  mate  Thostrup.  Nor  was  this  autumnal  march 
without  danger,  even  apart  from  the  perils  of  travel 
along  the  coast,  where  the  men  nearly  perished  by  break- 
ing through  the  new  ice.  At  Jokel  Bay  Thostrup  was 
driven  to  the  inland  ice,  the  only  possible  route.  At  all 
times  difficult,  this  travel  was  now  made  especially  dan- 
gerous by  the  fact  that  the  old  glacial  surface  was  not 
yet  covered  by  the  hard-packed  winter  drifts.  Thos- 
trup's  whole  sledge  party  on  several  occasions  barely 
escaped  falling  into  the  fearful  crevasses,  seen  with 
difficulty  in  the  semi-darkness  of  the  sunless  days. 
As  it  was,  several  of  the  dogs  were  lost  when,  a  snow 
bridge  crumbHng,  the  animals  fell  into  a  crevasse.  Their 
seal-skin  traces  breaking,  the  dogs  dropped  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ice-chasms,  which  were  sometimes  two  hun- 
dred feet  or  more  deep.  With  kindly  hearts  the  Eskimo 
drivers  tried  to  shoot  the  poor  animals,  and  put  them 
out  of  their  misery,  but  did  not  always  succeed.  As 
Erichsen  had  not  reached  the  coast  the  journey  was 
without  result.  Thostrup  found  untouched  the  caches 
of  Lambert  Land  and  Mount  Mallemuk,  and  turned 
southward  on  October  18,  unconscious  that  a  hundred 
miles  to  the  westward  his  missing  shipmates,  facing 
frost  and  famine,  were  valiantly  struggling  against  fate 
and  death. 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund         361 


The  condition  of  the  arctic  Crusoes  of  Denmark  Fiord, 
though  there  were  doubtless  days  of  cheer  and  hope, 
grew  gradually  worse,  and  by  the  middle  of  October 
had  become  terrible,  if  not  hopeless.  Although  the 
autumnal  ice  was  now  forming,  Mylius-Erichsen  knew 
that  in  their  state  of  physical  weakness  the  long  journey 
of  five  hundred  miles  to  the  ship,  around  Cape  North- 
east, could  never  be  made.  Hagen  agreed  with  him 
that  the  single  chance  of  life,  feeble  though  it  was,  lay 
in  crossing  the  ice-capped  mountain  range,  direct  to 
the  depot  on  Lambert  Land.  Of  course,  the  height  of 
the  ice-cap,  the  character  of  its  surface,  and  the  irregu- 
larities of  the  road  were  all  unknown  quantities. 

The  state  of  their  field  outfit  for  the  crossing  of 
the  inland  ice  betrayed  their  desperate  condition.  In 
general,  their  equipment  had  practically  disappeared 
under  stress  of  travel  and  of  hunting.  To  the  very  last 
they  had  carried  their  scientific  outfit  and  instruments. 
It  was  a  sad  day  when  they  recognized  that  the  only 
way  of  repairing  the  great  rents  in  their  skin  boots  was 
through  the  use  of  the  sole-leather  case  of  the  theodo- 
lite. Even  that  had  quite  gone,  and  without  needle, 
thread,  or  leather,  they  could  only  fold  wraps  around 
their  boots,  now  in  shreds,  and  tie  them  on  with  such 
seal-skin  thongs  as  had  not  been  eaten.  The  tent  was 
badly  torn,  and,  with  the  sleeping-gear — on  which  had 
been  made  sad  inroads  for  dog-food  and  patches  for 
clothing — afforded  wretched  shelter  against  storm  and 
cold.  For  transportation  there  were  four  gaunt  dogs — 
the  last  that  ravenous  hunger  had  spared — to  haul  the 


362  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


remnants  of  a  disabled  sledge.  The  winter  cold  had 
set  in,  with  almost  unendurable  bitterness  to  the  en- 
feebled, shivering  men.  The  weak  arctic  sun,  now 
skirting  the  southern  sky  at  mid-day,  was  leaving  them 
for  the  winter,  so  that  the  dangers  of  crevasses  and  the 
difficulties  of  glacier-travel  must  be  met  either  in  total 
darkness,  or,  at  the  best,  in  feeble,  uncertain  twilight. 

Discarding  everything  that  could  be  spared,  they 
reached  the  inland  ice  on  October  19,  the  day  the  sun 
went  for  the  winter,  and  barefooted  they  travelled 
across  this  glacial  ice-cap  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
in  twenty-six  days.  Their  shipmate.  Lieutenant  A. 
Trolle  says:  "When  I  think  of  the  northerly  wind  and 
the  darkness,  when  I  consider  that  every  morning  they 
must  have  crawled  out  of  their  dilapidated  sleeping- 
bags,  though  they  could  have  had  one  desire,  one  crav- 
ing— that  of  sleeping  the  eternal  sleep — then  my  mind  is 
full  of  sorrow  that  I  shall  never  be  able  to  tell  them  how 
much  I  admire  them.  They  would  go  on,  they  would 
reach  a  place  where  their  comrades  could  find  them  and 
the  results  of  their  work.  Then  at  last  came  the  end, 
the  death  of  Mylius-Erichsen  and  Hagen  a  few  miles 
from  the  depot,  and  the  last  walk  of  Bronlund,  crawling 
along  on  frozen  feet  in  the  moonshine.  With  the  sure  in- 
stinct of  the  child  of  nature,  he  found  the  depot,  ate  some 
of  the  food,  wrapped  himself  up  in  his  fur,  and  died.'* 

By  Bronlund's  body  was  found  Hagen's  chart  of 
their  discoveries,  and  his  own  field-journal  in  which  the 
final  entry  runs:  "I  perished  in  79°  N.  latitude,  under 
the  hardships  of  the  return  journey  over  the  inland 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund         363 


ice  in  November.  I  reached  this  place  under  a  waning 
moon,  and  cannot  go  on  because  of  my  frozen  feet  and 
the  darkness.  The  bodies  of  the  others  are  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fiord.  Hagen  died  on  November  1 5,  Mylius- 
Erichsen  some  ten  days  later." 

The  courage  and  self-sacrifice  of  Mylius-Erichsen 
and  Hagen  for  the  advancement  of  the  glory  of  their 
country  were  based  on  conditions  readily  understood. 
Officials  of  high  ideals,  long  in  public  service,  honored 
with  important  duties,  they  possessed  those  heroic 
qualities  which  throughout  the  ages  have  impelled 
chosen  men  to  subordinate  self  to  the  common  weal. 
Of  such  has  been  said: 

"Gone?     In  a  grander  form  they  rise! 
Dead  ?     We  may  clasp  their  hands  in  ours, 
And  catch  the  light  of  their  clearer  eyes. 
And  wreathe  their  brows  with  immortal  flowers." 

These  young  explorers  instinctively  knew  that  their 
deeds  of  daring  would  give  them  fitting  and  enduring 
fame.  Their  faith  in  their  country  was  justified  by  the 
tribute  that  Denmark  promptly  erected. 

But  with  Jorgen  Bronlund,  Greenlander,  it  was  quite 
another  tale.  The  virtues  of  self-sacrifice  and  of  fidelity 
unto  death  are  practically  ignored  in  the  traditional 
myths  and  tales  of  Greenland,  which  represent  the 
literature,  the  religion,  the  history,  and  the  poetry  of 
the  Eskimo  people.* 

•  Among  f.vo  hundred  Eskimo  tales  and  traditions  given  by  Rink  and 
Rasmusscn  there  does  not  appear  to  be  a  single  one  wherein  the  qualities  of 
aelf-sacrifice  and  absolute  fidelity  are  the  essential  or  main  ideas. 


364  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Bronlund  had  long  foreseen  the  outcome,  as  appears 
from  his  journal  entry:  "We  are  all  dead!"  From  this 
early  acceptance  of  his  coming  fate,  and  from  the  Es- 
kimo racial  trait  of  calm  acquiescence  in  destiny,  it 
would  be  natural  that  in  the  field  the  native  would 
have  first  succumbed. 

But,  charged  with  a  solemn,  vital  mission,  evidently 
receiving  the  commands  of  his  leader  as  the  voice  of 
God,  this  Inuit  was  faithful  even  over  fear  of  death, 
and  by  his  heroic  efforts,  freezing  and  starving,  insured 
the  fame  of  his  comrades  and  so  added  to  the  glory  of 
his  distant  fatherland  (Greenland  is  a  colony  of  Den- 
mark), unknown  to  him. 

Both  through  the  dictates  of  his  noble  soul,  and  also 
inspired  by  his  leader,  he  rose  to  sublime  heights  of 
heroic  action.  All  must  indeed  die,  but  he  would  to 
the  last  moment  of  his  life  be  true  to  his  sledge-mates, 
Erichsen  and  Hagen.  Without  doubt  their  last  words 
were  a  charge  not  to  fail  to  place  in  the  cache  at  Lam- 
bert Land  the  field-charts  and  his  own  journal,  so  that 
Denmark  might  know  that  her  sons  had  fulfilled  their 
allotted  duty. 

They  mistook  not  their  man,  and  the  fame  of  Den- 
mark's officers  was  insured  by  the  heroic  efforts  and  un- 
failing fidelity  of  their  humble  subordinate,  the  Inuit 
dog  driver,  Jorgen  Bronlund — Greenlander. 

Among  the  striking  features  of  the  beautiful  city  of 
Copenhagen  are  statuary  by  the  famous  Thorwaldsen 
and  other  great  sculptors,  which  proclaim  the  fame 
and  preserve  the  memory  of  kings  and  statesmen,  of 


The  Fidelity  of  Eskimo  Bronlund         365 

authors  and  admirals — men  great  in  war  and  in  peace, 
in  civic  worth  and  in  learning.  It  is  to  the  honor 
of  the  city  that  lately  there  has  arisen  a  unique  and 
striking  memorial  to  commemorate  worth  and  fidelity 
in  fields  far  beyond  the  sunset,  remote  from  commer- 
cialism and  from  civilization.  Thus  Denmark  keeps 
fresh  in  the  hearts  and  in  the  minds  of  her  people  the 
heroic  struggle  unto  death  of  Mylius-Erichsen  and  of 
Hagen,  and  of  the  Danish  Eskimo  Bronlund.  Such 
steadfast  sense  of  duty  and  heroic  powers  of  accom- 
plishment are  not  the  heritage  of  Denmark  alone,  but 
of  the  nobler  men  of  the  wide  world. 


THE    WIFELY    HEROISM    OF    MERTUK, 
THE    DAUGHTER    OF    SHUNG-HU 


THE   WIFELY   HEROISM   OF   MERTUK,   THE 
DAUGHTER  OF  SHUNG-HU 

"Deeper  devotion 

Nowhere  hath  knelt; 
Fuller  emotion 

Heart  never  felt." 

— Goethe  {Dwight's  translation) . 

RARELY,  if  ever,  has  there  been  recorded  in  his- 
tory a  more  varied  and  adventurous  life  than 
that  of  Mertuk,  wife  of  Hans  Hendrik,  who 
came  into  Hterature  through  the  magical  pen  of  Elisha 
Kent  Kane  as  the  "pretty  daughter"  of  Shung-hu, 
an  Etah  Eskimo.  She  was  born  (and  reared)  as  a 
veritable  Child  of  the  Ice,  being  one  of  the  members 
of  the  northernmost  tribe  of  the  world, — a  people,  in 
the  last  century,  of  absorbing  interest  as  a  surviving 
offshoot  of  the  Stone  Age. 

Mertuk  married  Hans  Hendrik,  an  Eskimo  of  Mo- 
ravian faith  from  Danish  West  Greenland,  who  was 
practically  a  deserter  from  Kane.  This  northern  idyl 
was  the  reverse  of  Ruth  of  the  Bible,  since  for  the 
sake  of  Mertuk,  Hans  abandoned  his  family  and  his 
country,  willingly  separating  himself  from  the  com- 
forts and  certainties  of  civilized  life  for  the  vicissitudes 
and  inconveniences  of  an  archaic  environment.  De- 
spite a  lovely  wife,  Hans  soon  discovered  the  wretched 
discomforts   and    unwelcome   methods   of  life   on   the 

369 


J»/ 


True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


Etah  coast,  where  hunger  and  physical  sufferings  were 
not  infrequent  attendants  on  even  the  most  skilful 
and  active  hunter. 

When  the  polar  expedition  of  Dr.  Isaac  I.  Hayes 
touched  in  i860  at  Cape  York,  Hans  joined  the  doc- 
tor's forces  taking  his  wife  and  child  with  him;  next 
year  they  emigrated  to  Danish  Greenland  when  Hayes 
sailed  south. 

Ten  years  later  Hans,  with  Mertuk  and  three  chil- 
dren, joined  Hall's  north-polar  expedition,  which  made 
a  ship's  record  for  the  world.  At  Thank-God  Harbor 
was  born  Mertuk's  youngest  child,  Charles  Polaris, 
nearer  the  pole  than  any  other  known  infant.  With 
undaunted  courage  and  uncomplaining  fortitude  she 
endured,  with  her  four  children  (one  a  babe  of  three 
months),  the  fearful  vicissitudes  of  the  Polaris  drift, 
set  forth  in  another  sketch,  "The  Marvellous  Ice- 
Drift  of  Captain  Tyson,"  carrying  her  babe  in  her 
seal-skin  hood  while  dragging  a  heavy  sledge  over 
rough  ice. 

With  quiet  dignity,  in  keeping  with  her  cool  equa- 
nimity and  her  unblanching  acceptance  of  hardships 
in  the  Vv^hite  North,  Mertuk  accepted  the  extraordinary 
experiences  incident  to  temporary  life  in  the  great 
emporium  of  American  civilization — New  York  City 
— which  she  was  the  first  of  her  tribe  to  visit.  Re- 
turning to  Danish  Greenland  with  her  children,  she 
there  passed  the  rest  of  her  less  eventful  life,  busy  and 
happy  in  the  domestic  duties  pertaining  to  her  family 
and  to  her  Inuit  neighbors. 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  371 

The  incident  of  Mertuk's  wifely  heroism,  herein  told 
in  detail,  is  drawn  from  an  unpublished  diary  of  Mr. 
Henrv  W.  Dodge,  mate  of  the  schooner  United  StaUs, 
then  wintering  under  Dr.  Hayes  at  Port  Foulke.* 

The  sketch  of  the  childhood  of  this  heroic  and  inter- 
esting woman  is  based  on  various  passages  of  explorers 
and  writers  familiar  with  the  incidents  of  Etah  life. 

Among  the  forceful  and  friendly  natives  of  Etah 
sixty  years  since,  in  the  days  of  Kane,  was  Shung-hu, 
famed  equally  for  his  qualities  as  a  man  and  for  his 
daring  as  a  mighty  hunter.  He  especially  displayed 
his  skill  in  the  successful  pursuit  of  the  polar  bear, 
whether  on  land  along  the  coast,  on  the  fast  ice  under 
the  frov/ning  snow-clifFs  of  Humboldt  Glacier,  or  on 
the  moving  ice-floes  of  Smith  Sound.  Apart  from  his 
alert  action  and  dignified  bearing,  his  person  was  no- 
table through  his  ample  whiskers,  on  chin  and  on  lips, 
which  age  and  exposure  had  already  softened  by  their 
silvery  coloring.  Indeed,  he  was  the  only  full-bearded 
native  in  the  nation,  as  is  related  by  Hayes,  whose  dis- 
tressed and  starving  boat  party  was  only  able  in  the 
last  extremity  to  reach  the  Advance  through  the  aid 
of  the  Angekok  Kalutunah  and  his  comrade  Shung-hu. 

Among  the  much-loved  children  of  Shung-hu  was  a 
daughter,  Mertuk,  whose  mother's  name  is  unknown, 
but  she  doubtless  had  that  deep  affection  and  tender 
care  for  her  daughter  which  are  common  traits  of  these 
iron  women  of  the  Etah  coast. 

*  See  map  on  page  95. 


372  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

Nature  and  necessity  had  made  the  family  lead  a 
life  of  constant  wandering,  and  so  the  child  shared 
the  seasonal  and  oft  irregular  journeys  along  the 
shut-in,  narrow  coast-land  between  the  great  Hum- 
boldt Glacier  and  the  sea-beaten  cliffs  of  Cape  York. 
It  was  always  a  journey  for  food — birds  and  bears, 
deer  and  seals,  walruses  and  narwhals,  as  time  and 
good-fortune  dictated. 

Carried  by  her  mother,  little  Mertuk  travelled  in 
true  native  fashion,  thrust  naked  and  feet  foremost 
into  the  back  part  of  the  ample  seal-skin  hood.  There 
she  rode  in  warmth  and  comfort,  safely  seated  astride 
of  a  soft,  rounded  walrus  thong,  which  passed  under 
the  arms  of  the  mother  and  was  made  fast  around  her 
neck. 

Mertuk  thus  grew  and  throve,  happy  and  healthy, 
under  conditions  which  to  boys  and  girls  of  our  own 
country  would  have  seemed  impossible  of  endurance. 
Sometimes  the  tiny  child  would  be  thrust  out  in  a 
temperature  in  which  mercury  would  freeze  solid,  and 
with  laughter  felt  the  biting,  stimulating  cold  that 
only  made  the  hood  more  welcome  as  a  home-nest. 
It  was  the  way  of  the  wild,  which  must  be  followed  in 
this  country  of  sunless  winters  and  of  blinding  bliz- 
zards, which  every  brave  Inuit  loved. 

To  this  Eskimo  maiden  the  whole  world  was  made 
up  of  a  few  score  men,  women,  and  children  of  the  ig- 
loos, of  a  dozen  kinds  of  birds  in  the  air,  and  on  the 
cliffs;  of  white  hares,  bluish  foxes,  and  reddish  deer  on 
land;   of  smooth  seals,  white  whales,  horned  narwhals. 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  373 

and  big-tusked  walruses  in  the  sea;  and  last  but  by 
no  means  least  the  enormous  amphibious,  sharp-clawed 
bear  whose  glistening,  yellowish-white  skin  furnished 
material  for  the  furry  garments  in  which  her  father 
Shung-hu  was  always  clothed. 

At  an  early  age  Mertuk  came  to  know  the  living 
creatures  which  w^ere  the  sources  of  food  and  the  means 
of  life.  She  could  tell  the  seasonal  time  in  which  came 
and  went  the  wild  fowl,  of  their  breeding  and  of  their 
young.  The  haunts  and  habits  of  the  swift-footed 
animals  of  the  glacier-enclosed  land  were  all  known 
to  her,  as  well  as  the  favorite  resorts  of  the  monsters 
of  the  bordering  icy  ocean,  which  furnished  the  hides 
and  bones,  the  sinew  and  ivory,  without  which  there 
would  be  neither  needles  and  thread  for  the  igloo,  nor 
lances  and  sledges  for  the  hunter. 

It  was  a  land  of  meat  and  flesh  in  which  she  lived, 
with  no  bread  or  vegetables,  and  the  taste  of  sugar 
and  of  tea,  the  flavor  of  salt  and  of  pepper,  were  ab- 
sent from  her  food.  She  knew  not  books,  matches, 
fire-arms,  boats,  stoves,  crocker}^  nor  cloth  whether 
of  cotton  or  fibre,  of  silk  or  wool.  It  was  a  land  with- 
out wood,  iron,  medicines,  or  stimulants,  and  equally 
without  government,  schools,  churches,  hospitals,  or 
even  houses — unless  one  could  so  name  the  stone  huts, 
the  skin  tents,  or  the  transient  snow  igloos. 

Her  mother  early  taught  her  all  the  kinds  of  women's 
work  which  could  make  her  useful  to  her  tribe  or  to 
her  family,  and  without  doubt  instilled  in  her  a  sense 
of  some  of  the  feminine  graces  which  have  softened 


374  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

the  harshness  of  the  world  in  all  chmes  and  in  every 
country  throughout  the  ages.  Here  they  were  a  part 
of  the  life  of  the  stone  age,  which  the  Etahs  had  in- 
herited untainted  by  the  outside  world. 

The  daughter's  supple  fingers  soon  braided  evenly 
and  closely  the  sinews  of  the  narwhal  into  the  tense 
and  needful  bow-strings,  for  Shung-hu  hunted  reindeer 
with  bow  and  arrows.  Her  strong  hands  tightly 
stretched  the  drying  seal-skin,  through  which  later 
her  bone-needles  and  sinew-thread  were  so  skilfully 
plied  that  the  skin  broke  before  the  seams  gave  way. 
With  deft  action  and  with  an  unwonted  taste  she  so 
shaped  her  bird-skin  clothing  and  blue-fox  hoods  as  to 
win  praise  for  her  garments  from  men  and  women  ahke. 
Her  skill  with  the  lamp  soon  became  equal  to  that  of 
the  oldest  expert  of  the  tribe.  Choosing  and  drying 
^he  long  moss  best  suited  for  wicks,  she  applied  a  bit 
^f  walrus  fat  to  the  moss  threads,  and  twisted  them 
if}tx>  a  dense,  even  roll.  While  other  lamps  gave  forth 
voldmts  of  smoke,  Mertuk  so  skilfully  trimmed  the 
lighted  moss-wick  that  it  gave  an  equal  steady  flame 
along  the  fdge  of  the  koodlik  (pot-stone  lamp).  An 
adept  in  all  woman's  work,  always  in  health,  gay,  witty 
and  even-tempered,  Mertuk  came  also  to  be  a  comely 
maiden — well-formed  in  figure,  fair  of  face,  though 
very  tiny  in  stature. 

But  even  in  this  land  of  Eskimo  plenty  there  come 
seasons  of  dire  distress,  when  famine  stalks  abroad  and 
slow  starvation  strikes  down  the  weaklings  of  the  tribe. 
In  such  a  time  of  want  and  hunger  Hans  Hendrik  came 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  375 

to  the  Etah  tribe,  to  aid  tiie  half-famished  folk  in  the 
hunt  of  the  walrus,  then  needed  to  save  from  lingering 
death  the  sick  men  of  Kane's  ship  as  well  as  the  strong 
people  with  Kalutunah  and  Shung-hu.  Mertuk  had 
watched  from  a  distance  this  wonderful  youth,  who 
spoke  Inuit  queerly,  to  the  sly  amusement  of  the  listen- 
ing Etahs.  But  he  carried  a  long,  strange  weapon — 
fire-flashing,  ear-splitting,  and  death-dealing — that 
killed  a  bear  or  a  walrus  at  great  and  unheard-of  dis- 
tances. In  the  brief  intervals  of  the  urgent  hunt  he 
came  to  Shung-hu's  igloo  to  sleep,  to  eat  their  scant 
fare,  and  to  feed  his  wolfish  dogs,  which  were  ever 
fighting  with  those  of  Shung-hu.  The  hunt  was  fast 
and  furious,  and  with  such  success  that  steaks  and 
liver,  walrus-skin  and  rich  blubber,  were  again  in 
plenty. 

Of  the  joyous  feast  after  this  particular  hunt,  in 
which  Mertuk  partook  with  other  famishing  Etahs, 
Kane  quotes  Hans  Hendrik,  "an  exact  and  truthful 
man,"  as  saying:  "Even  the  children  ate  all  night. 
You  (Kane)  know  the  little  two-year-old  that  Awiu 
(possibly  the  mother  of  Mertuk)  carried  in  her  hood — 
the  one  that  bit  you  when  you  tickled  her.  That  baby 
cut  for  herself,  with  a  knife  made  out  of  an  iron  hoop 
and  so  heavy  that  she  could  hardly  lift  it,  cut  and  ate, 
ate  and  cut,  as  long  as  I  looked  at  her.  She  ate  a  sipak 
— the  Eskimo  name  for  the  lump  which  is  cut  off  close 
to  the  lips  [of  the  eater] — as  large  as  her  own  head. 
Three  hours  afterward,  when  I  went  to  bed,  the  baby 
was  cutting  off"  another  lump  and  eating  still." 


376  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

The  work  of  the  hunt  proved  too  strenuous  for  the 
Danish  Greenlander,  and  finally  Hans  was  worn  out  by 
exposure  and  fatigue,  while  he  fell  sick  from  cold  and 
wet.  In  this  condition  he  sought  the  breek  *  of  Shung- 
hu's  igloo  for  rest  until  he  gained  strength  to  enable 
him  to  return  to  Kane,  to  whom  he  had  sent  walrus  , 
meat. 

The  care  of  the  strange  Inuit  fell  on  Mertuk.  Prompt 
and  gentle  in  her  ministrations  and  attentions,  jovial  in 
her  speech,  and  witty  in  conversation,  she  soon  en- 
snared the  heart  of  Hans.  Indeed,  from  all  accounts, 
she  had  that  peculiar  winning  bashfulness  that  is  so 
attractive  among  certain  of  the  children  of  nature.  Be- 
sides her  tasteful  dress  she  had  a  sense  of  order  and  of 
cleanliness,  not  always  found  among  the  Etahs.  She 
not  only  kept  her  long,  raven-black  hair  unmatted, 
but  had  also  gathered  her  tresses  into  a  tuft  on  the  top 
of  her  head,  where  it  was  fastened  by  a  finely  embroid- 
ered seal-skin  strap.  This  gave  her  a  semblance  of  size 
and  height  quite  needed,  for  she  was  only  a  trifle  over 
four  feet  tall. 

Hans  soon  took  careful  notice  of  his  nurse,  who 
talked  with  overflowing  mirth,  while  her  busy  fingers, 
in  the  intervals  of  personal  service,  unceasingly  plaited 
the  tough  sinew-thread  with  which  arrow-heads  are 
secured  or  other  hunting  implements  perfected.  Deft 
and  quick,  busy  with  work,  careful  of  her  little  brothers, 
she  seemed  to  be  the  maiden  suited  to  his  taste,  al- 

*The  raised  bench  or  platform  of  stone,  earth,  or  snow,  in  the  back  part 
of  the  igloo,  on  which  the  furs  and  skins  are  arranged  for  bedding. 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  377 

though  the  claims  of  other  women  were  presented  to 
him  during  his  stay.  Before  he  was  strong,  he  had 
asked  that  she  should  become  his  wife.  Most  of  her 
maiden  comrades  had  sobbed  and  lamented  when  the 
time  came  for  them  to  change  the  care-free,  petted,  and 
joyous  child  life  for  the  onerous  duties  of  an  Etah 
matron.  But  Mertuk's  heart  glowed  with  happy  feel- 
ings, and  she  sang  with  joy  when  the  great  Eskimo 
hunter,  who  had  killed  three  of  the  five  great  walruses, 
asked  that  she  would  be  his  wife, 

Kane  relates  the  story  of  the  courtship  as  follows: 
**Hans,  the  kind  son  and  ardent  lover  of  Fiskernaes,* 
has  been  missing  for  nearly  two  months.  I  am  loath 
to  tell  the  tale  as  I  believe  it,  for  it  may  not  be  the  true 
one  at  all,  and  I  would  not  intimate  an  unwarranted 
doubt  of  the  consistency  of  boyish  love.  Before  my 
April  hunt,  Hans  with  long  face  asked  permission  to 
visit  Peteravik,  as  he  had  no  boots  and  wanted  to  lay 
in  a  stock  of  walrus  hide  for  soles.     I  consented. 

"He  has  not  returned  and  the  stories  of  him  that 
come  from  Etah  were  the  theme  of  much  conversation 
and  surmise.  He  had  given  Nessark's  wife  an  order 
for  a  pair  of  boots,  and  then  wended  his  way  to  Peter- 
avik (the  halting-place),  where  Shung-hu  and  his 
pretty  daughter  had  their  home.  This  explanation 
was  given  by  the  natives  with  man}''  an  explanatory 

*  Kane  says  of  him:  "I  obtained  an  Eskimo  hunter  at  Fiskernaes,  one 
Hans  Christian  (known  elsewhere  as  Hans  Hendrik).  a  boy  of  eighteen,  an 
expert  with  the  kayak  and  javelin.  After  Hans  had  given  me  a  touch  of  his 
quality  by  spearing  a  bird  on  the  wing,  I  engaged  him.  He  was  fat,  good- 
natured,  and  except  under  the  excitements  of  the  hunt  as  stolid  and  un- 
impressive as  one  of  our  Indians." 


378  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

grin;  for  Hans  was  a  favorite  with  all,  and  as  a  match 
one  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  country. 

"The  story  was  everywhere  the  same.  Hans  the 
faithful,  yet  I  fear  the  faithless,  was  last  seen  upon  a 
native  sledge,  driving  south  from  Peteravik  with  a 
maiden  at  his  side,  and  professedly  bound  for  a  new 
principality  at  Uwarrow,  high  up  Murchison  Sound. 
Alas!  for  Hans  the  married  man.  Lover  as  he  was,  and 
nalegak  (chief)  by  the  all-hail  hereafter,  joy  go  with 
him,  for  he  was  a  right  good  fellow." 

Though  Hans  said  that  his  mother-in-law  "had  al- 
ways behaved  to  me  like  a  tender  mother,"  and  that 
**the  amiability  of  these  unbaptized  people  is  to  be  won- 
dered at,"  yet  life  went  hard  with  the  married  couple 
among  "the  unchristened  natives  of  the  North." 

Touching  at  Cape  York  in  i860.  Dr.  Hayes  found 
Hans  and  his  wife  living  there.  Of  their  quarters. 
Dodge,  in  his  unpublished  journal  says:  "Their  shelter 
was  a  seal-skin  tent,  six  by  eight  feet  in  size  and  six  feet 
high,  in  which  lived  Hans,  Mertuk,  the  baby,  and  the 
mother-in-law.  The  hreek  of  large  stones  took  up, 
with  the  bedding,  two-thirds  of  the  space,  leaving  scant 
room  for  the  cooking  utensils;  a  small  stone  pot  hung 
above  the  blubber-fed  stone  lamp." 

He  continues:  "Mertuk  was  with  him,  having  at  her 
back  a  baby  not  a  year  old.  I  must  admit  that  Hans 
would  not  have  been  inexcusable  for  being  allured  by 
a  pair  of  black  eyes  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  roving 
tribes  of  the  North.  She  is  by  far  the  handsomest 
native   woman   that  we   have  yet  seen,   being   much 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  379 


prettier  than  any  woman  of  the  mixed  races  of  Danish 
Greenland.  She  is  very  small  but  is  finely  featured, 
and  has  hands  and  feet  as  delicate  as  a  child's.  Not- 
withstanding the  general  harshness  of  the  Etah  lan- 
guage, her  voice  is  quite  musical,  and  she  has  the  most 
gleeful,  ringing,  bell-like  laugh  that  I  have  ever  heard." 

Taking  his  wife  and  babe  along,  Hans  joined  the 
expedition  of  Dr.  Hayes  as  hunter.  In  midwinter,  as 
elsewhere  related  in  "Sonntag's  Fatal  Sledge  Jour- 
ney," Hans  went  south  as  dog  driver,  with  the  astron- 
omer, to  buy  dogs  for  the  sledge  journeys  of  the  com- 
ing spring.  After  a  month  Dr.  Hayes,  becoming  greatly 
alarmed  at  their  protracted  absence,  decided  to  send 
Dodge,  the  mate,  south  to  trace  the  missing  men. 
But  deep  as  may  have  been  the  anxiety  of  Hayes  for 
Sonntag,  it  did  not  equal  the  anguish  of  Mertuk's 
soul  as  to  the  fate  of  her  loved  Hans. 

The  theory  that  the  people  of  the  stone  age  are 
purely  animals,  struggling  only  for  food,  for  clothmg, 
and  for  shelter,  finds  no  support  in  the  conduct  of 
this  tiny,  ignorant,  heathen  woman,  whose  heart  was 
filled  with  ideals  of  love  and  of  duty. 

Living  under  conditions  of  ease  and  luxury  far  sur- 
passing anything  of  which  Mertuk's  mind  had  before 
been  capable  of  imagining,  this  tiny,  uncivilized  woman 
resolved  to  quit  her  abode  of  warmth  and  light  for  p:erc-' 
ing  cold  and  utter  darkness,  to  abandon  her  abundant 
food  and  comfortable  berth  for  a  chance  bit  of  frozen 
seal  meat  and  a  snow  igloo.  And  for  what  reason?  To 
find  a  missing  husband,  in  search  of  whom  a  party  was 


380  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

to  take  the  field.  To  non-polar  people  no  words  can 
convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  dangers  to  be  met,  of 
the  privations  to  be  endured.  It  was  a  period  of  sun- 
less days  (the  sun  had  been  gone  for  more  than  a 
month),  in  the  excessive  cold  of  midwinter,  at  the 
season  of  fearful  blizzards,  along  an  uninhabited  stretch 
of  coast  of  utter  desolation,  in  following  which  one 
must  pass  the  dreaded  Cape  Alexander  either  on  the 
outer  moving  ice-pack  or  along  the  treacherous  ice- 
foot at  the  base  of  its  precipitous  cliffs.  And  no  one 
knew  better  than  Mertuk  the  misery  and  hardships, 
the  sufferings  and  perils  which  must  be  faced  on  such 
a  journey. 

The  tale  of  this  woman's  heroic  resolution  is  thus 
told  in  his  journal  by  Dodge,  whom  Hayes  sent  south 
to  trace  Sonntag's  trail: 

"Here  let  me  introduce  a  little  episode  which  might 
be  useful  to  poets  and  novelists  as  an  example  of 
woman's  constancy  and  devotion,  showing  perhaps 
that  the  true  woman's  heart  beats  the  same  in  all 
ages,  countries,  and  climes.  It  reveals  itself  equally 
strong  in  a  Gertrude  watching  the  livelong  night  be- 
neath a  scaffold,  and  in  a  simple,  untutored  savage, 
going  out  alone  under  the  shadow  of  an  arctic  night, 
ca.Trying  a  child  upon  her  back  and  looking  for  a  lost 
husband. 

"Mrs.  Hans  [Mertuk]  had  discovered  by  some  means 
that  a  searching  party  was  being  organized  to  discover 
the  fate  of  the  missing  men.  Being  fearful  that  she 
would  be  detained  if  her  intentions  were  known,  she 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  381 


left  the  vessel  an  hour  in  advance  of  us,  hoping  that 
she  would  be  allowed  to  keep  on  when  she  should  be 
overtaken. 

"This  information  was  not  pleasant  for  me,  as  those 
best  acquainted  with  Eskimo  character  felt  sure  that  she 
would  not  turn  back,  unless  forcibly  compelled  to  do  so. 

**Her  intention  was  not  suspected,  however,  and  it 
was  not  until  I  was  on  the  point  of  starting  that  one 
of  the  Eskimo  told  Jansen,  the  Dane,  that  Mertuk 
had  gone  in  search  of  her  husband. 

"When  we  were  on  our  way,  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  the  ship,  I  discovered  some  distance  ahead  a 
little  form,  plodding  through  the  snow,  which  I  knew 
must  be  Mrs.  Hans.  In  half  an  hour  more  we  had 
overtaken  her,  and  I  must  admit  that  it  was  an  affect- 
ing sight  to  look  upon  this  little  woman,  barely  four 
feet  tall. 

"With  her  child  only  a  year  old  on  her  back,  Mertuk 
plodded  bravely  along  through  the  snow,  into  which 
she  sank  knee-deep  at  almost  every  step,  impressed 
with  the  idea  that  the  dearest  one  on  earth  to  her  was 
somewhere  in  the  vast  desolation  before  her,  and  fired 
with  the  feeling  that  she  must  find  him  or  perish  too. 

"As  my  companion.  Christian  Petersen  the  Dane, 
could  make  her  understand  him,  I  told  him  to  tell  her 
that  she  could  not  go  on  but  must  go  back,  while  we 
would  go  on  and  look  for  Hans,  explaining  the  reasons 
for  her  return.  But  to  all  his  arguments  Mertuk  simply 
said  that  she  must  find  Hans  or  die — and  resolutely 
she  set  her  face  toward  the  south. 


382  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 


"While  Christian  talked  to  her  I  stood  by,  leaning 
on  my  rifle,  awaiting  anxiously  the  result  of  a  discus- 
sion that  I  could  not  understand,  except  as  I  read  the 
woman's  face.  We  could  not  spare  the  time  to  go  back 
with  her.  She  could  not  accompany  us,  for  our  pace 
was  too  rapid  for  her  and  besides  we  must  not  be  de- 
layed in  our  mission.  If  she  followed  us  she  would  be 
soon  worn  out  with  fatigue,  carrying  her  child  through 
the  soft,  deep  snow;  and  if  she  sat  down  to  rest,  her 
fate  was  certain  when  overcome  by  sleep  or  through 
exhaustion." 

When  Petersen  said  that  he  could  do  nothing  with 
her,  as  she  obstinately  declared  that  she  was  going  on 
for  her  husband.  Dodge,  greatly  disturbed,  was  per- 
plexed as  to  what  action  he  should  take.  Fortunately 
there  came  to  his  mind  a  thought,  kindred  to  that  so 
forcefully  and  beautifully  expressed  by  Tennyson  in 
his  Hnes,  "Home  they  brought  her  warrior  dead,"  and 
he  continues: 

"Finding  that  Christian's  arguments  were  likely  to 
prove  unavailing,  I  stepped  up  to  Mertuk,  lifted  up  a 
corner  of  the  reindeer  skin  that  she  had  thrown  over 
her  seal-skin  hood,  and  pointed  to  the  tiny  bab}^  who 
was  sleeping  quietly,  and  said  [in  English]:  ^Ij you  go  on 
the  child  will  die.'  She  could  not  understand  my  words, 
which  the  Dane  did  not  translate,  but  something  in 
her  heart  must  have  disclosed  their  meaning.  For  the 
first  time  she  showed  signs  of  irresolution,  and  her  eyes 
filled  with  tears.  Carefully  covering  the  child's  face, 
I  brushed  from  the  mother's  hair  and  eyebrows  the 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  383 

frost-feathers  that  had  already  formed  through  the 
awful  cold.  Looking  steadily  into  her  eyes,  and  talk- 
ing in  a  low,  firm  voice,  I  told  her  that  I  would  look 
faithfully  for  Hans,  and  bring  him  back  to  her  if  he 
could  be  found. 

**I  shall  never  forget  the  expression  of  her  counte- 
nance, the  moonbeams  streaming  down  on  her  eager, 
upturned  face.  Her  Hps  were  sHghtly  parted,  and  her 
whole  soul  seemed  to  be  shining  through  her  expressive 
eyes,  which  were  fastened  fixedly  on  mine. 

"When  I  ceased  speaking,  she  answered,  talking  in 
an  eager,  impassioned  strain,  which  made  her  meaning 
plain  enough,  though  her  speech  was  in  an  unknown 
tongue.  Finally  she  pointed  to  the  south  and  said  that 
she  would  go  on,  but  the  trembling  tones  of  her  voice 
did  not  show  the  same  firmness  as  it  had  done  before. 
Christian  would  have  interpreted,  but  it  was  unneces- 
sary; the  woman  and  I  understood  one  another,  and  I 
felt  that  the  victory  was  won. 

"Again  I  spoke  to  her  in  the  same  tone  as  before, 
and  as  she  listened  her  eyes  were  once  more  dimmed  by 
tears.  I  was  sure  that  her  determination  was  wavering. 
Now  pointing  first  to  the  child,  and  then  in  the  direction 
of  the  ship,  I  told  her  that  she  must  go  back.  Though 
she  felt  my  meaning  she  stood  for  a  moment,  most  reso- 
lute in  her  attitude,  gazing  intently  into  my  eyes,  until 
she  must  have  seen  something  forbidding  in  my  unre- 
lenting face." 

Dodge  later  writes;  "To  fully  appreciate  the  impres- 
sive effect  of  this  most  dramatic  incident,  the  condi- 


384  True  Tales  of  Arctic  Heroism 

tions  under  which  it  occurred  should  be  remembered. 
We  were  far  out  of  sight  of  the  ship,  were  some  distance 
off  shore  on  the  main  ice-pack  of  Smith  Sound,  the 
moon  was  shedding  a  dim,  ghost-like  glare  upon  us,  and 
it  was  the  coldest  day  of  the  winter,  the  thermometer 
indicating  seventy-five  degrees  below  the  freezing 
point." 

He  humorously  adds  regarding  his  forceful  language 
in  ordering  Mertuk  back  to  the  ship:  'T  will  not  swear 
that  the  vigorous  words  froze  as  they  came  from  my 
mouth,  but  after  I  finished  there  were  pendant  icicles 
an  inch  long  to  my  whiskers  and  mustache. " 

As  to  Mertuk,  orders,  arguments,  and  requests, 
whether  in  pantomime  English  or  in  Danish-Eskimo 
dialect,  would  have  utterly  failed  of  effect,  had  she  not 
been  stirred  by  frequent  allusions  to  her  baby — Hans's 
child,  who  must  be  saved  from  danger  of  deatli.  To 
the  mother,  cold,  hunger,  and  privations  were  as 
naught. 

Long  and  bitter  was  the  conflict  in  Mertuk's  heart 
between  her  motherly  affection  and  her  wifely  devotion. 
Should  she  do  alone  her  duty  to  her  infant,  or  should 
she  put  the  child's  life  aside  in  her  arctic  quest  for  her 
missing  hunter  husband?  To  the  last  her  heart  was 
undecided.  Now  she  turned  to  the  north,  taking  a 
fev.*  steps  toward  the  ship,  then  she  flew  bank  on  the 
trail  after  the  searching  party,  which  had  now  moved 
onward. 

Finally,  with  a  gesture  as  of  despair  at  adverse  and 
inexorable  fate,  she  slowly  took  up  her  lonely  march 


The  Wifely  Heroism  of  Mertuk  385 


back   to   the   ship — where   food,  warmth,   and  shelter 
awaited  at  least  the  child  of  Hans. 

On  shipboard  Mertuk  did  not  cease  to  bewail  her 
weakness  in  returning  from  the  search  until  the  very 
day  when  Hans,  who  by  no  means  hastened  his  return, 
came  back  to  fill  her  heart  with  that  sweet  content 
which  was  absolutely  insured  by  his  presence  alone. 

By  modern  standards  this  woman  of  the  stone  age 
was  low  in  the  scale  of  humanity — uncouth,  ignorant, 
a  heathen,  and  even  brutish  in  a  way. 

This  tale  of  an  Inuit  girl  is,  however,  but  a  loose 
leaf  from  the  history  of  woman,  which  indicates  that 
the  spirit  of  altruistic  devotion  is  an  attribute  im- 
planted by  God  in  the  primitive  races,  and  not,  as 
some  would  fain  have  us  believe,  the  golden  fruit  of 
developed  humanity. 

A  century  since  an  American  poet  paid  due  homage 
to  a  beautiful  belle,  who  later  became  his  wife,  in 
verse  that  aptly  depicts  the  lovable  traits  of  Mertuk, 
the  daughter  of  Shung-hu. 

"Affections  are  as  thoughts  to  her, 
The  measures  of  her  hours; 
Her  feelings  have  the  fragrancy, 
The  freshness  of  the  flowers." 


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